


Pens || H.S.

by linnysweetheart



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/M, Psychopath, Stockholm Syndrome, bipolar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-29
Updated: 2017-07-10
Packaged: 2018-10-12 18:11:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 37
Words: 112,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10496682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/linnysweetheart/pseuds/linnysweetheart
Summary: [Completed]"You're insane."Harry scoffs, rolling his head to the side to look at Arianna.  "Aren't we all?"When Arianna Brinley gets abducted by a psychopathic, bipolar man named Harry Styles, she'll do anything to escape him.  As she discovers he might be more human than he first appeared and starts to fall for him, she must realize her mistake or risk being his prisoner forever.





	1. 01.

**Disclaimer**

**This story is a work of complete fiction.  The characters in this book are original and in no way relate to any person other than in appearance and name.  The topic of this story can be offensive and triggering to some readers, so please read at your own risk.  I do not condone the behavior of my characters or encourage the type of relationship they have in any real life situation.  Please do not copy or redistribute this fanfiction without permission.  And remember, this is for entertainment purposes only, so enjoy the story and have fun.**

**Copyright © linnysweetheart 2017**

**All Rights Reserved.**

 

* * *

 

 **Stockholm Syndrome** Stock•holm Syndrome (stŏk'hōlm', -hōm')

_n._

The psychological tendency of a hostage to bond with, identify with, or sympathize with his or her captor.

 

 

* * *

 

**Prologue**

The black jeep is sitting on the edge of a deserted road, partially concealed by the low hanging trees and the inky, blackness of night.  A light rain patters against the windshield, leaving miniscule drops sliding down and collecting into a puddle at the bottom.  Inside the jeep, Harry is sitting behind the steering wheel.  His seat is pulled back and his long legs are stretched out, resting from the long drive.  He reaches out his fingers and drums them on the tightly bound, leather steering wheel.  He should have called by now, he thinks to himself, increasing the tapping of his fingers to match the tempo of his escalating impatience.

He reaches over and rolls down the window a crack, feeling the cold, damp air come rushing inside.  He sighs and glances into the rear-view mirror at the large, black bag that is laid out on the white seats.  His eyes suddenly fly back to the front window, where in the distance he can see flashing lights illuminating the rock cut and gradually getting closer.  The hand that was drumming on the steering wheel now tightens around it as two police cars fly past him.  His breath is sucked in as his entire body stiffens, his green eyes illuminating momentarily in the passing light.

The sound of the sirens decrease along with the thunderous sound of his heart.  He glances in the mirror just to be sure they’re gone and then back into the dark road ahead of him.  His fingers relax and resume their tapping pressing harder and faster against the leather covering.  His eyes dart to the phone sitting on the passenger seat and he curses at the sight of the black screen.  He’s been sitting on the side of the road for almost an hour now and Simeon still hasn’t called him.

He notices how the bag in the backseat begins pulling his eyes towards it again and he groans, reaching up and shaking his messy, dark brown curls with his free hand.  His eyes flutter shut and the constant thumping beat of his fingers is all he can hear.  His lips part and he breathes in deeply, exhaling slowly.  He hates doing jobs like this.  The risk of being caught is even higher now that he is a wanted man.

The sound of his phone vibrating and sliding along the white, leather seat causes his head to jerk towards it, breaking him from his thoughts.  Before it even has the chance to start ringing, he grabs it in his hand and presses the answer button.

“I’m going to fucking kill you,” he growls, squeezing the phone tighter in his hand.

“I know. I know.  I’m sorry, man.  It’s just… they’re not here yet,” Simeon answers, clearing his throat at the end.

“I told you to have them ready by the time I got back,” Harry spits out, the anger in him rising by the second.

“Well, they’re putting up quite the fight this time…” Simeon says, flinching away from the phone for a moment.  Harry can hear him shuffling the phone in his hand as he scrambles to catch up with his mood.

“I don’t care what they’re doing!  If you don’t keep them quiet I’m going to-“

“They’re quiet, don’t worry about it.  Have I ever let you down before?”

“Don’t make me answer that question, Simeon.”

Harry’s senses heighten for a moment again as a truck comes speeding past him on the slick road, sending water spraying up against the side of the jeep.  He turns to look out the opposite window and his stare hardens, a frown crossing his features.

“I’ll be back in an hour.  They better be ready by then,” Harry orders quickly before pressing the end button and tossing the phone back onto the seat.

He lifts his long legs and places them between the two seats so that he can push himself into the passenger seat.  He ducks his head and pushes the door open, looking out into the thick collection of trees and bushes in front of him.  The water that was clutching onto the leaves on the trees releases and soaks into his black t-shirt as he yanks the back door of the jeep open.  His hands grasp onto the thick, plastic bag and he heaves, pulling the heavy mass out of the back of the jeep.  It lands with a thump on the wet ground, sending mud splattering onto his shoes and jeans.  The grass presses down, leaving a flattened trail as he drags the bag over the uneven ground and into the brush.  More water clutches onto his bare arms as he pushes his way through and down the side of the hill.  Low branches stick to his clothing and scratch at his face as a large lake comes into view at the bottom.  The water is dark and the rain pelts against the surface, leaving scattered ripples behind.

Harry looks out over the water, rain pattering against his face and causing his hair to lie flat against his forehead.  He can see a small current running through the middle, causing the water to swell and churn from the river upstream.  It’s the perfect place to hide something.  He groans as he lifts the bag up and over his shoulder, the object inside sagging over his back as he walks to the water’s edge.  Then, with a grunt, he yanks the bag over his shoulder and throws it into the water.  The loud splash is nearly disguised by the sound of the water and rain pounding in his ears.  Harry sighs and stands up straight, watching the spot where it was sucked beneath the surface for a few moments before turning and walking back towards the jeep.

 


	2. 01.

“Alright, ladies!  That’s all for today!  Good work!”

Arianna releases her tight grip on the bar and she lands with a muffled thump on the red mat below.  Her bare feet squish into the padded floor as she walks over to the corner of the room to retrieve her water bottle.

“Great work today, Arianna.  Really nice posture on the vaulting horse.  I wish the others were more enthusiastic about following in your footsteps,” Coach Randy praises her as she opens the bottle and takes a long drink.

Arianna glances down at the floor to avoid looking embarrassed as the rest of her gymnastics team groans.  She hates being worshipped over in front of the team almost as much as she hates gymnastics itself.  In fact, if it wasn’t for her parents, she wouldn’t have discovered her talent at all.  Her body jumps as two cold hands clasp onto the back of shoulders.  She pulls the bottle from her lips and spins around to her friend Teagan’s excited expression.

“That was incredible, Ari!  There’s no way you won’t qualify for nationals in the fall,” she praises, her blue eyes wide as she uses her hand to sweep her shoulder length, red hair over her shoulder.

“Nationals,” Arianna sneers, “Don’t remind me.”

Teagan rolls her eyes as Arianna picks up her gym bag and stuffs her water bottle back inside before heading towards the showers.  The locker room is empty and the smell of sweat instantly fills her nose, causing it to scrunch in disgust.  She walks over to the far wall and tosses her bag down onto the bench.  Teagan pauses in the doorway, watching her best friend with a displeased expression on her face.

“Ari, you’re really good, you know.”

“Trust me, I know.  It’s all my parents ever want to talk about,” Arianna huffs, yanking a large towel from her bag and pulling her tight, purple tank top up and over her head.

The tattoos that are scattered over her arm and back stretch with her slim, muscular body as she tosses the shirt at Teagan.  She catches it with one hand and sighs, pulling it into her chest.  Arianna ignores the sound and continues undressing by slipping off her leggings, revealing a large, intricately designed tattoo of a dream catcher beginning at the top of her thigh and ending just above her knee.

“No, I mean, you should use your talent to your advantage.  Think about scholarship,” Teagan insists, clutching the crumpled up tank closer to her chest.

“What about the scholarship?”

“Ari…”

“Teagan, I really don’t want to have this conversation right now!” Arianna calls over her shoulder as she disappears around the corner and into the showers.  Teagan is about to follow her but she pauses and remains standing in the middle of the room with all her unsaid opinions still riding on the tip of her tongue.

The shower handle squeaks when Arianna turns it and water immediately begins pounding against the cold tile.  She steps under the water and it cools her warm skin, cascading off the edges of her body in thin streams.  She moans and throws her head back, letting the water rush over her face.  Her muscles slowly begin to relax but her mind continues to race.  It would be nice if Teagan would stop pestering her about the nationals and scholarship every chance she got.  Arianna has always hated how everyone supports her on the things she hates and discourages her from the things she loves.

She sighs and steps out from beneath the water to grab a bottle of shampoo.  Using her long fingers, she massages it into her hair, inhaling the sweet smell of mango that fills the air.  All of a sudden, a picture of her mother screaming at her late one night flashes in her head and anger courses through her.  Her fingers unconsciously pinch the bare skin of her thighs in search of a cigarette to blind the anger and she curses under her breath when she remembers where she is. 

Quickly, she rinses her hair and pushes the stiff handle back into the off position.  The thundering water ceases and the slippery tile hugs her toes as she walks across the room, twisting the ends of her long, dark brown hair to get rid of the excess water.  She grabs her towel from one of the many hooks on the far wall and wraps it around her slender body, tucking the edges beneath her armpits.

With her pulse still racing, she exits the showers and enters the locker room once more.  It’s still vacant except for Teagan who is sitting next to Arianna’s gym bag with her phone clutched tightly in her hands.  Her fingers violently tap against the screen and her face scrunches up in determination.  As Arianna gets closer, she stops texting and slips the phone into her back pocket.

“Feeling better?” Teagan asks, the corners of her mouth curving up into a sympathetic smile.

“I will once I get outside,” Arianna sighs, grabbing her bag and heading back around the corner to the showers.

She immediately begins getting dressed with an escalating feeling of impatience coursing through her veins.  Her hands tremble as she pulls the thin material of her Beatles tank top over her head and slips her long legs into her ripped, light blue jeans.  Her hands shake harder as she reaches into the depths of her bag, searching blindly for her package of cigarettes.  A feeling of relief rushes through her when she pulls them out and tucks them into her back pocket.

Once again, she steps out into the change room and Teagan quickly shoves her phone back into her pocket.  Arianna’s feet drag on the floor as she comes to a stop in the middle of the room and she crosses her arms over her chest.

“Alright.  What are you hiding from me?”

“Nothing.  Ari, when would I ever hide something from you?”

“Oh, I don’t know.  All the time.  Now what is it?”

Teagan sighs and drops her hands into her lap in defeat.  “Please don’t freak out on me, Arianna,” she says, her eyebrows scrunching in concern.  “It’s your cousin Tammy.  She’s gone missing.”

Arianna’s arms relax and fall to her sides, hanging there motionless.  She can feel her heart drop with them, sliding all the way to her stomach. 

“What?  H-how?” she stammers, pulling her eyes towards Teagan and blinking them repeatedly.

“I don’t know.  Vanessa just texted me, but she doesn’t know the full details yet.  She just said that they’ve been looking for her all evening.”

It feels like the room is spinning.  Arianna reaches into her pocket and grabs the forgotten pack of cigarettes tightly in her hands.  How could something like this happen?  It wouldn’t be the first time someone’s gone missing but it’s the first time that it’s personal.

“I need to go outside,” Arianna says, staring past Teagan and straight at the door.  “Right now.”

“Alright.  I… I’ll grab your stuff.”

Teagan’s words are like a faint buzz in Arianna’s ears as she steps trance-like towards the door.  Her feet move slowly, picking up speed as she approaches it and her hand reaches outwards, grasping the handle and pushing the door open.  She’s greeted by a group of her teammates, chatting loudly and laughing as they walk towards the exit.

“Hey, Ari!  Great work on the mats today!” one of them calls over her shoulder in a mocking tone before the rest of them burst into laughter.

Anger quickly replaces her shock, rising as she stares at the group of girls retreating towards the entrance.  Before she call yell back at them, she feels Teagan’s cold hands wrapping around her arm.

“Ignore them,” she whispers into her ear, looking slowly from Arianna to the girls and then back again.

Arianna sighs and grabs her gym bag off of Teagan’s shoulder, throwing it onto her own.  She watches the girls disappear through the doors and into the dark parking lot and she wishes that she wasn’t so good at gymnastics.  Then maybe everyone would see how much she hates it.  She clutches the package of cigarettes tightly in her hand again and begins walking towards the entrance.  Teagan’s heels click loudly on the cement floor as she walks quickly to catch up.

“Are you going to go to Tammy’s house?” Teagan asks her, sweeping her hair over her shoulder and pulling her phone out of her pocket.

“No,” Arianna answers, opening the package with one hand and pulling out a cigarette.  “I don’t want to see my family right now.”

“Arianna!  They need you right now!  Don’t make this another excuse to avoid them!”

“I’m not trying to avoid them, Teagan!  I just need some time to clear my head before I let them fill it with their crap again,” she argues back, placing the thin cigarette between her front teeth and opening the front door.

The darkness outside engulfs them as they step through the door, letting it close slowly behind them.  Arianna shivers slightly as the damp air wraps around her bare arms, causing tiny goosebumps to rise on her skin.  She glances up at the sky, feeling her mood drop further at the sight of the heavy, grey clouds above her.  Her feet slap against the wet pavement as her and Teagan walk across the dark parking lot.

“Can you at least go for me?  I want to know what happened to Tammy,” Teagan begs, pouting out her bottom lip.

A loud, forced laugh slips through Arianna’s lips as she digs her lighter out of her gym bag pocket.  “Of course, you do!  You have a gossip problem!” she exclaims, glancing over at Teagan as she flicks on her lighter with her thumb and touches the flame to the tip of her cigarette.

“No, I don’t!” Teagan exclaims, defending herself as Arianna brings the cigarette up to her lips.  “I just like to know what’s going on in my friend’s lives.”

“Whatever you say,” Arianna replies in a singsong voice, turning and blowing smoke into Teagan’s face.

“Come on, Arianna!  You know I hate it when you do that!”

Arianna chuckles and brings the cigarette to her lips again.  She inhales sharply, feeling the thick smoke swirling down to fill up her lungs.  She lowers her hand and stares out across the dimly lit parking lot.  A few cars are still parked in front of them, sitting lonely and derelict without anyone inside them.  In the distance, the sound of cars flying past on the highway fills her ears and she closes her eyes at the sound.  It reminds her of when she’s lying in bed at night with the window cracked open.  The sound makes her feel incredibly relaxed and sleepy.

Her lips part open and she exhales, fluttering her eyes and watching the smoke dissipate into the air around them.  She pinches the small cigarette between her fingers and lifts it to her lips, inhaling quickly and exhaling slowly, releasing another puff of smoke into the air.  She tries to ignore Teagan when she picks up her phone and begins texting again at a fast speed.  She doesn’t want to tell her anything she finds out about Tammy.  She doesn’t even want to know herself.  If she knew, it would only give her a reason to worry about it.

Arianna turns and looks at Teagan, causing her to stop texting and lower her phone.  She sighs and drops the cigarette from her hand, stepping on it and squishing it into the wet pavement.  “I think I better head home.  I don’t want to worry my parents any more than I have to,” she says, twisting her wet hair over her shoulder.

“Alright.  Well, call me when you find out what happened.  I want to know everything,” Teagan says, beginning to walk towards her car.

“Not going to happen,” Arianna calls over her shoulder as she walks towards the end of the parking lot.


	3. 02.

The wheels on the skateboard send water spraying up off of the pavement as Arianna rides along the side of the road.  Instead of going home to find out what happened to Tammy, she had snuck through the door, dropped off her things and left again.  She didn’t want to have to face her parents.  At least not while the incident of Tammy’s disappearance is still so fresh in their minds.

Her long, dark brown hair blows in the wind as she picks up speed, pushing her strong leg harder and harder against the pavement.  Her sneakers feel wet from the water that is still collected on the road but she doesn’t mind.  A few cars pass her, pulling to the other side of the road to avoid splashing her with water and she gives them a quick nod of gratitude as they fly past.

The breeze is beginning to get cold on her ears so she pulls up the hood on her sweater and ties it tightly around her face.  The backpack that is hanging from her shoulders is starting to feel heavier as she gets closer to her destination.  Her light grey eyes scan along the sides of the road as she moves along, feeling wary for the first time tonight that someone might jump out at her from the trees.

She shakes her head, sighing and looks straight ahead again.  The feeling of nervousness in the pit of her stomach doesn’t lift but she tries her best to ignore it.  She refuses to turn around and go home.  She knows that her parents will be furious with her but she doesn’t care.  She knows that they’ll be furious no matter what she does.

The sound of water running in the distance makes her nervousness lift slightly.  She clenches her fists and pushes faster, letting the skateboard glide quickly over the flat pavement.  Her eyes sweep over the large dam that crosses over a river as she travels across the short bridge and she smiles.  The sound of thundering water cascading over the side of it fills her ears and she relaxes even more. 

She places her foot flat on the ground to slow down and she turns onto the wide, dirt road to her left.  She stops when she feels the wheels of her skateboard digging into the mud and she hops off of it.  Bending down, she picks it up and carrying it close to her side, she begins walking down the path.  Small street lights hang above her head as she walks, casting just enough light to see the deserted building ahead of her.

Arianna reaches up and pulls her hood down, letting her long hair fall down her back and slide over her shoulder.  Her dirty sneakers squish into the mud as she walks towards the building.  Grey eyes scan over the faded and fresh paintings that cover the brick wall and she feels another smile playing on her lips.

Arianna leans her skateboard against the wall and drops her backpack from her shoulders, setting it on the ground next to her.  She crouches down, brushing a stray piece of hair behind her ear and opens the bag.  She digs inside, biting down on her bottom lip as a tiny breeze picks up around her.  The sound of rushing water provides her with a feeling of safety as she pulls out two cans of spray paint.  She’s not worried about anyone finding her here.  No one knows about this place, not even Teagan.

She sets one can down beside her bag and shakes the other one in her hand.  She cracks the lid off and tosses it onto the ground before looking up at the heavily vandalized wall.  There are hundreds of bizarre markings and lines covering the entire wall and the whole side of the dam on the opposite side of her.  Ever since she found this place, she’s tried to come back as often as she can.  Over time, she felt confident enough to begin adding her own artwork to the walls and now she proud to know that over a quarter of it belongs to her.

She shakes the can once more before pressing down on the top of it.  A stream of bright red paint shoots out and she carefully moves her hand up and down, slowly spelling out the word “HELP”.  When she’s satisfied, she bends over and picks up the other can, coloring in the middle of each letter with dark blue paint.  Then she stands back and admires her work, tucking her hair behind her ears and biting on her lip.  The word stares back at her, impregnating itself in her mind.  Lately, the only thing in her mind has been the thought of needing help.

She sighs and crouches down to put the cans back in her bag.  The sound of water thundering is still taking up most of her attention but it doesn’t stop her from hearing the awful crash that rings through the air a couple of seconds later.

Arianna’s head twists around to look over her shoulder and her whole body freezes at the sight of the car.  The hood is smoking slightly and is completely wrapped around the nearest streetlight pole.  She can just make out the figure of a person inside trying to move and the can she was holding slips out of her hand and falls to the ground.  It lands in the mud and slowly rolls away from her and towards the car.  The breath that she was holding in falls from her lips as she watches the front door being forced open.

In a second, she’s pushing herself up from the ground and running towards the car.  The door opens all the way just as she reaches the far side of it and the whole body of the car shakes.  Her eyes fall onto the hood again which is warped around the pole, damaged beyond repair.  Then she turns and looks at the man that is sitting with his feet on the ground and his bleeding forehead clutched in his hands.

She gasps slightly at the sight of him and lifts her hands to her forehead when a light, misty rain begins hanging in the air around her.  At the sound of her gasp, the man jerks his head up and his lips fall open in surprise.  His mouth opens wider to say something when a muffled voice comes out of the phone that is clutched in his hand.

He slowly lifts it to his ear and uses his other hand to brush his curly, dark brown hair away from his small, bleeding cut.  He groans away from the phone and focuses his hard eyes away from Arianna as she continues to stare down at him in growing disbelief.

“I’m still here.  I just crashed my fucking car,” he barks into the receiver, running his hands through his hair once more.

“Are you okay?” Arianna forces out, stepping closer to the car.

The man ignores her as he continues to listen into the phone.  She feels concern and impatience rear up in her at the same time and she reaches out towards him.  He dodges her advance and lifts his hands up defensively.

“I’m fine, don’t touch me,” he snaps, pulling the phone away from his ear and hanging it up.

Arianna feels anger quickly overtaking her impatience and she crosses her arms over her chest.  She doesn’t even flinch when his hard eyes make contact with hers.

“You shouldn’t be talking on the phone while you’re driving!” she snaps, pointing at him accusingly.

“You think I don’t know that!” he exclaims, his chest rapidly rising and falling as he clutches his phone tightly in his fist.

Arianna jumps slightly at his outburst and watches him nervously as his jaw tightens and his eyes continue to bore into hers.  He seems to notice and he quickly looks away.

“Look, I’m sorry.  I’ll be alright so you can just go and pretend this never happened,” he says, grabbing his knees tightly with his hands.

“No,” she replies, crossing her arms again.

“No?”

“I’m not going to leave you here.  It’s raining and you’re hurt.  I’ll call an ambulance and tow truck.  I’ll even pay for it if that’s your problem,” she says, grabbing her phone out of her pocket and turning it on.

“Put the fucking phone down!” he exclaims, jumping out of the car and grabbing onto her wrist.

She freezes under his tightening grip and the phone falls from her hand and into the mud.  Her eyes never break contact with his fuming ones as they stand there staring at each other in the misty rain and she can feel tears beginning to gather in the corners of her eyes.  He slowly releases his grip and she quickly backs away from him, stumbling over the uneven ground.

“You never saw anything.  You hear me?” he warns before walking back to the car and grabbing his jacket from the passenger seat.

“O-Okay,” she stammers, watching motionlessly as he turns and looks at her again.

“Good,” he says firmly before turning and walking quickly towards the trees.

Arianna stands there for a while trying to comprehend what just happened.  She was only trying to help him and instead of accepting it, he threatened her.  Her mind races as she tries to put the pieces together in her head.  A man crashed his car, damaging it and himself.  Then he refused her help, threatened her and ran off into the forest.

“What the fuck?” she whispers, looking down at the car and shaking her head.

She looks up again to where he disappeared in the trees and continues to shake her head, blinking her eyes slowly.  What just happened?  She raises her wrist and stares down at the spot where his hand had just been.  It’s in that moment that she realizes that she’s shaking.  Her whole body is trembling and it’s not from the rain or the cold.  She’s terrified.  Her cousin went missing only hours ago and now she was nearly assaulted by a strange man in the middle of nowhere. 

She lifts her hands to her face and runs them slowly down to her chin, releasing a shaky breath through her dry lips.  Her eyes fall back onto her bag and skateboard in the distance and she takes a deep breath.  She’s going to get her things and go back home where she’s safe.  The man is gone now and he’s not going to hurt her.  She just can’t tell anyone about it.

She takes another shaky breath and bends down to retrieve her phone before walking back towards her things.  Her feet begin to feel heavier as they sink into the muddy ground and she lifts her hand to brush the damp hair away from her face.  She barely notices that it starts raining harder because she’s so consumed by the thought of him hiding in the trees, watching her.

She picks up her backpack and slings it over her shoulder before pulling her hood up over her head.  Her eyes focus on the trees again and she feels her heart thumping faster in her chest.  She picks up her pace, grabbing her skateboard and the spray cans.  She stuffs the cans inside her backpack and quickly begins walking down the short, dirt road.  The sound of a siren chirping through the darkness causes her head to snap up and her heart to nearly stop in her chest.


	4. 03.

Arianna squints her eyes as the rotating red and blue lights on top of the car blind her.  She slowly lifts her hand up to shield her face and averts her eyes down to the ground.  Heavy rain begins plummeting from the sky, quickly soaking into her clothes and making her gasp.  She turns to look behind her, momentarily thinking of running when the police officer steps out of the car and begins approaching her.

“Don’t even try it!” he yells, moving faster over the muddy ground towards her.

Arianna freezes and turns back to look at him.  His stern face observes her as he wipes the rain off of his forehead.  Her heart thumps quickly in her chest as he continues to close the distance between them.

“Drop the bag,” he orders, stopping a foot in front of her and pointing at her backpack.

She sighs under her breath and pulls it quickly from her shoulders, dropping it to the ground at her feet.  She raises her hands up nervously and watches as the officer walks forwards and snatches up her bag.  Her eyes trace his hand as he pulls the zipper open and shoves his large hand inside, stirring up the contents until he pulls out the can of spray paint.  He raises his blond eyebrows and shakes the can once in his hand.

“What’s this, huh?” he asks as Arianna wipes away the water that is dripping off the end of her nose with her sweater sleeve.

“It’s my paint,” she answers quietly, her voice becoming swallowed up by the rushing water of the dam behind them.

“What was that?”

“It’s my paint,” she repeats louder, letting her hands fall limply to her sides as tears begin to collect in her eyes.

The officer’s eyebrows raise again and he glances from the paint can to Arianna.  She can feel her heartbeat consuming her entire body, pulsing all the way to her extremities.  What will her parents do if she gets herself arrested?  They’re already going to be angry with her for not coming straight home from gymnastics.  Now they’re going to be furious.

“And what were you doing with it?”

Her grey eyes snap back up to the officer’s face.  “I was painting on that wall over there,” she answers, pointing through the darkness to the hidden building behind them.

“Are you aware that you can be charged for vandalism in this state?”

Arianna blinks her eyes several times as the rain continues to pour into her face.  She can feel the salty tears beginning to stream down her cheeks.  The officer shakes the can in his hand again and clears his throat.

“Yes.  I’m aware,” she answers, staring down at the muddy ground.

“Then I’m afraid I’m going to have to press charges against you.  Are you under the age of eighteen?”

She shakes her head, still focused on the ground.  This can’t be happening to her.  She’s been coming out here for so long and she’s never been caught.  Why is the officer even here anyways?

“Are you still in school?”

“High school,” she answers, her voice breaking.

“I see.  That means I’m going to have to alert your parents.  If you could just hop in the back of the cruiser, we can get this over with quickly,” he orders as Arianna’s eyes dart around the ground.

Her breath catches in her throat as she remembers the crashed car behind her, hidden by the trees.  Is that why he’s out here?  Was that man being chased?  It’s the only explanation she can think of.  Should she tell the officer about the car?

Her thoughts are interrupted by the officer grabbing her arm and dragging her forward.  He pauses to grab her backpack, slinging the wet strap over his shoulder.  Arianna’s feet move unwillingly with his, slipping and squishing into the ground.  She can’t tell him.  That man warned her not to.  What if she tells the officer and then he finds out she turned him in?

She ducks her head down and slides into the back seat of the police car when the officer opens the door for her.  She closes her eyes when the door slams shut, opening them again as he walks around the car to the driver’s seat.  Her hands run shakily down her face and she shivers as she leans back against the seat.  The car purrs as he shifts it into drive and backs up to turn around.  As they begin driving back down the road and to the highway, a slight breeze blows through the front window that is cracked open.

“Can you close the window?” Arianna asks, crossing her arms tightly around her body to stop her violent shivering.

The officer responds by leaning over and cranking the window closed.  She sighs and rubs her hands up and down on her arms to warm herself up.

“What’s your address?” the officer asks, glancing in the rear-view mirror.

“23 Albert Drive,” she answers, turning to look out the window.

Water splashes up on the sides of the car as they speed down the road and heavy droplets of rain pound against the windshield.  The wipers are on full speed, squeaking against the glass and filling the silence.  Arianna tunes the sound out.  She can’t stop thinking about the strange man that crashed his car as they drive along.  She’s almost stopped caring about being charged completely.

She grabs her hair in her hand and wrings it out, pulling it over her shoulder and letting it hang against her drenched sweater.  Her bottom lip is sucked between her teeth and her one hand travels to her jeans.  Her fingers tap against her thigh as she tries to think about something other than the man or her charges.

They drive through periods of light and dark as they pass beneath streetlights on the nearly deserted road.  The occasional car speeds past them, sending a wave of water spraying up from the road and illuminating their faces with its two, bright headlights.  Arianna’s heart thumps hollowly in her chest as they enter town and the buildings around them become more and more familiar.  She immediately begins thinking about her parents again.  What’s she going to do when they find out?  What’s she going to say to make them understand why she did it?

“Is it this one?” the officer asks as he points to the medium sized, white house in front of them that greatly resembles the ones on either side of it.

“Yes,” Arianna answers quietly, staring at the house in front of them.

The officer turns off the car and unlocks the doors, pausing to grab her backpack from the passenger seat before stepping out of the car.  Arianna remains sitting in the backseat, terrified to move as he walks around to her door.  The rain is still pelting down and he squints and adjusts his hat before opening the door.  She looks up at him and he nods briefly, giving her permission to step out.  She pushes herself off of the seat and places her soggy shoes onto the pavement.  Her eyes fall onto the house once more and she takes a deep breath before standing up.

Cold rain immediately begins pelting against her drenched clothes, causing chills to run up and down her spine.  Her hand lifts to her forehead and she pushes her wet hair out of her eyes as they begin walking towards the front door.  There are no lights shining through the windows and for a moment, Arianna hopes that her parents aren’t home.  The officer steps in front of her and reaches out his arm, pressing the rectangular door bell.  The faint sound of it chiming echoes through the door to where they are standing and Arianna feels her heart begin beating more rapidly in her chest.

A moment later, the lights flicker on inside, casting a yellowish color into the air around them.  Arianna bites her lip and concentrates on the tiny daisies beside the door, drooping from the heavy droplets of water clutching to the white petals as the door swings open in front of them.  Arianna quickly glances up at her mother and then back down at the ground.  An immediate silence falls over the three of them.  It’s like the rain has stopped falling and the lights have gotten a lot brighter.

“Can I help you?” Lilian Brinley asks the officer with a slightly quavering voice, wiping her hands on the front of her dark, blue jeans.

“Yes.  If you don’t mind, I’d like to step inside and talk to you about your daughter,” the officer answers, causing Lilian’s brown eyes to droop in disappointment.

“Of course,” she says, stepping back and focusing her eyes on Arianna.

The officer steps over the threshold, followed by Arianna who continues to avoid eye contact with her mother as she walks past.  The officer removes his hat and runs his fingers through his short, blond hair once before replacing it on his head.  They follow Lilian into the living room and over to the couch.  The officer pauses and turns to face them before sitting down.

“Miss, if you don’t mind.  I’d like to speak with you alone,” he says, glancing from Lilian to Arianna.

“I’ll be in my room,” Arianna replies quietly before her mother can open her mouth.  She finally meets her mother’s eyes as she turns around.

Lilian’s eyes fixate on Arianna’s as she quickly passes her on her way out of the room.  Arianna doesn’t even consider turning back around to see the look on her mother’s face as she reaches the stairs.  She takes them two at a time, grasping tightly onto the railing and biting down so hard on her bottom lip that she can taste blood.  Her shoes smack loudly against the wooden floor as she breaks into a small jog towards her bedroom door.  Her hand wraps around the handle and she pushes it wide open.

Her eyes sweep over the tiny bedroom, taking in the records framed on the dark purple wall opposite to her and the small bed beneath them.  She kicks aside a stack of books on the floor near the door as she walks across the room and straight to her desk.  She grasps her headphones in her hand, sending several small items flying to the floor in the process and she pries her phone out of her back pocket.  Her fingers fumble and shake as she attempts to stick the end of the headphones into her phone and she stops when she notices the dirt sticking onto her fingers.  She releases the phone and it falls with a quiet thud onto the black carpet under her feet.  She steps backwards until she hits the bed and she falls onto it, lifting her hands off the black sheets to examine them.  Her breathing comes out silently through her parted lips as she remembers once again the strange man that crashed his car.

A short burst of anger rushes through her at the thought of him and she clenches her fists together.  With everything else that’s going on right now, she shouldn’t be worrying about this.  She sighs and wipes her hands on her jeans, feeling the evidence of the night beginning to fall away.  She wishes it would be that easy to forget about.  She lifts her hands up to her hair and grabs the dark brown strands between her fingers, tugging it downwards over her face.  Her eyes squeeze shut and a soundless sigh falls from her lips.  The mattress sighs as she drops her hands to her sides and she slowly flutters her eyes open.

The man’s face hovers in her mind, pushing and pushing to be front and center no matter how hard she tries to shove him aside.  She groans and relaxes on the bed, all of her limbs motionless as she holds her breath.  It’s almost like she can feel the rain pelting against her face and smell the smoke swirling into the air from the smashed hood of the car.  The man is sitting in front of her with his one hand cradling his head and the other one clutching his phone tightly in his hand.  A faint voice buzzes from the phone and into the air around him as his dark eyes look up and meet hers with shock.

A loud knocking comes ringing through her thoughts and everything falls away.  She gasps and sits up quickly, clutching the sheets in her hands.  Her eyes shoot to the door and her lips pop open.

“Don’t come in!” she yells at the door.

Silence follows and Arianna scrambles to the head of the bed, leaning back against the white pillows and running her fingers through her damp hair.  A few seconds later, the door opens and Lilian appears on the other side, tucking her short, brown hair behind her ears.  Her eyes land on Arianna sitting on the bed and her face changes.

“Is this because of Tammy?” Lilian asks, resting her hands on her narrow hips.

“No, Mom.  It’s not about Tammy,” Arianna answers, looking away from her mother and over to her pillow.

“Then what is it?”

Her staring hardens as she focuses on the pillow, trying to make herself disappear.

“Arianna…”

“I’m not okay,” she whispers, still looking at the pillow.

“What happened?” Lilian questions, stepping further into the bedroom.  Arianna continues to look away causing Lilian to sigh and place a hand on her forehead.  “Arianna, you have to talk to me.  That officer told me things and I don’t want to believe them but you’re giving me no choice by staying silent.”

“I’m not okay!” Arianna bursts out, snapping up her head to face Lilian.  “I didn’t do it because of Tammy!  I didn’t do it to show you and Dad that I could!  I did it because it’s who I am!  But I don’t expect you to understand that!  You never do!”

“I try to understand but you won’t let me!”

“That’s bullshit, Mom, and you know it!” Arianna exclaims, pushing herself off of the bed and storming across the room.

“You’re not allowed to just walk away from me without explaining yourself,” Lilian orders, spinning to face her.

Arianna pauses in the door and looks over her shoulder.  “Try and stop me,” she spats before turning back and yanking the door open.

Her mother’s words of protest are lost behind her as she runs down the stairs, kicking aside her forgotten backpack as she storms towards the front door.  Pausing, she bends over and grabs her grey jacket from the crumpled up pile of clothes beside the door, blowing her long hair out of her face as she straightens up.

She reaches out and twists the lock open, not even pausing when she hears her mother’s feet pounding on the stairs.  She yanks the door open and the misty night air collects around her, causing her to inhale sharply.

“Arianna, don’t leave!  Just come back so we can talk about this,” Lilian begs, sighing and slouching against the railing when Arianna responds by walking outside and slamming the door behind her.


	5. 04.

Arianna forces a loud breath through her lips as she storms down the sidewalk.  The streets are empty on either side of her and the wet pavement is glistening in the white light of the moon above her.  The clouds have begun to dissipate, leaving large gaps of pitch black sky between them.  Arianna’s feet slap against the sidewalk and her breathing gradually slows.  She grasps her jacket in her hand and lifts it to slip her arms inside, sighing as the stale scent of cigarettes fills her nose.  She jams her hands into the pockets, the corners of her lips turning up slightly when she feels the package of cigarettes and cold, metal lighter come into contact with her fingertips.

She slows her walk, trailing off to the edge of the sidewalk and running her fingers along the white fence next to her.  Her fingertips create a beat with the wood as she walks and sing out a quiet song as she closes her eyes briefly.  When she opens them, she’s reached the end of the fence and her hand falls loosely at her side.  She looks down and her eyes follow a narrow path that’s been worn into the ground from years of use. 

Her feet turn off of the sidewalk and onto the path, feeling the dirt soften beneath her sneakers.  She moves forward slowly into the darkness, letting her eyes adjust as she walks into the thin brush.  Wet leaves on the ground stick to her shoes as she walks and small droplets of water slide off of the branches that reach towards her as she brushes past them.  She feels calm as she continues further down the path, all of her previous anger at her mother nearly forgotten.  Her hand grasps around the package of cigarettes in her pocket, teasing the tab on the top open and closed with her fingers.  Her hair falls into her face, the soft strands finally beginning to dry.  She blows it out of her face and looks up, her eyes landing on the opening in the trees at the top of a small hill. 

Her legs work faster and her toes run into small roots sticking up out of the path as she begins walking upwards.  Her breathing increases, coming through her lips in small, audible puffs.  A light breeze comes from the east, throwing her hair over her shoulders and causing her eyes to blink rapidly.  She pulls her jacket tighter around her body as she reaches the top of the hill.  Her eyes scan the area, empty except for the large, weeping willow tree with a tire swing hanging from it, blowing slowly back and forth in the wind.

She smiles and steps forward, feeling years of memories come flooding back to her.  When she was younger, her and some kids from the neighbourhood found this place.  They used to come up here every day after school and climb the tree that they called a very simple “Willow”.  They would bring along a deck of cards and a pad of paper with pencil crayons that were every color of the rainbow and they would sit up in the branches and play Crazy 8’s and MASH for hours.  One day, Arianna’s friend Brooks’ father let him have one of the tires off of his old truck and he generously donated it to “Willow”.  Arianna can’t remember the last time she came up here.

She walks up to the ancient tree and places her hand on the bark, running her fingers along the side of it.  “Hi, Willow,” she whispers, as her fingers sink into the carved letters of all of their names, sloppily written into the wood. 

She smiles again as she spots her name and slowly traces each of the letters with her finger.  Then she turns and looks at the swing that is still swaying in the breeze.  She moves towards it, grabbing the rope in her hand and forcing it to stop moving.  She examines the swing carefully, brushing away a small cobweb that stretches from the rope to the tire before she lifts her leg and places it through the center.  She grasps the rope in her hand, feeling the rough material burning her skin as she swiftly pulls her other leg and up and through.  The tire swing wobbles and she holds the rope tighter, trying to catch her balance.  When the swinging slows into a steady, graceful pace, she lifts her head and looks out ahead of her. 

The view is as beautiful as she remembers.  A large lake stretches out in front of her, foggy from the rain and glimmering slightly from the moon.  In the distance, she can see lights from the city just visible on the horizon.  The scene is so peaceful that she can’t seem to look away.  She crosses her arms on top of the tire and rests her chin on them, sighing quietly.    

The disappointed face of her mother flashes in the back of her mind and she exhales slowly.  It sometimes seems like the only image she has of either of her parents is a negative one.  It’s almost impossible to imagine them smiling and pleased with her.  The only time she can think of is when she brings up gymnastics.  She breathes out again, this time loudly through her nose.  Her hands reach quickly into her jacket pockets and she pulls out the box of cigarettes and the lighter.  She opens the tab on the top of the box and takes out a thin, white cigarette, feeling her chest tighten up at the sight of it.  She transfers the lighter to her other hand and twists the cigarette back and forth in her fingers as she places the box back in her pocket.

It’s so silent around her that she can hear the flame licking at the air when she turns on the lighter.  The tightness in her chest disappears and she sways the lighter side to side, watching the flame appear and disappear as it dances in front of her face.  She connects it to the tip of her cigarette and watches as it turns from grey to bright orange.  Almost immediately the air around her fills with the smell of nicotine and she sighs deeply, bringing it to her lips.  As she inhales, the pictures of her parents become fainter and fainter and she feels herself beginning to relax again.

She breathes out, letting the smoke catch in the breeze and blow back towards her.  She closes her eyes as it rushes past her and into the trees.  Then, she raises the cigarette to her lips again and swings her feet back and forth, looking out over the lake.

“Wow.  Twice in one day,” says a voice from behind her, causing her to gasp and nearly lose her balance.

She slides the cigarette against the tire, putting it out and letting it fall to the ground as she spins around.  Her lips fall open and her whole body freezes at the sight of the man standing halfway between her and the trees.

“I’d say it’s starting to become tradition, you and me meeting this way,” he says, taking a step forward with his hands stuffed in the front pockets of his jeans.

Arianna’s lips open and close a few times but nothing comes out.  She watches wordlessly as he lifts his hand and slips his long fingers through his curly, dark brown hair.  The corner of his mouth pulls up into a smirk, causing a deep dimple to indent into his cheek.  He chuckles deeply, hanging his head and ruffling his hair once more before placing his hand back into his pocket.

“Speechless, are we?” he asks, his lips pulling up into a smile, revealing straight, white teeth.  “I don’t recall you being so quiet earlier this evening when you were demanding to help me.”

Arianna sucks a breath in and grasps tightly onto the rope between her hands.  Her eyes trace upwards to the small, cleaned cut on his forehead and then back to his dark eyes. 

“What do you want?” she asks quietly, surprised to hear her own voice cut through the silence.

“If I told you that, we’d miss out on all the fun,” he answers, stepping closer to Arianna.

Her heart begins beating faster in her chest with every step he takes closer to her.  There’s something about him that’s captivating though, like she can’t keep her eyes off of him.  He walks slowly, placing one foot lightly in front of the other, teasing her. 

“How did you know I’d be here?”

“Intuition,” he replies, shrugging slightly as he circles around the side of her. 

She loosens her grip on the rope, turning her body to follow him as he turns and stands in front of her.  Her heart hammers against her chest and she shifts on the swing, afraid he might be able to see her heart pounding against her ribcage.  He stares at her intently, tilting his head to the side. 

“Could I ask you for a favor?” he asks, staring directly into her eyes.  Her eyes dart away from his and onto the sky behind his head.

“Depends on what you’re asking for,” she answers, biting her lip.

His eyes leave her face and look down at the ground as he chuckles, kicking at a tuft of grass.  “It’s something different.  You’ll be surprised with me.  Not many people are willing to participate at first,” he replies, smiling up at her.

She lowers her eyebrows and studies him carefully.  What does he mean by that?  She shakes her head slightly and her eyes fall to his lips which are still curved up in a smile.  It’s almost creepy the way he is silently staring at her and she feels a small chill run down her spine.  Before he can say anything else, she scoots backwards on the tire swing and slips her leg out, placing it on the ground, followed by her other one. 

“Where are you going?” he asks as she turns and starts walking back towards the path.  She ignores the sound of his shoes pounding on the ground as he jogs to catch up with her.  “You haven’t even heard the best part yet.”

“No, thank you,” she says, still not looking in his direction as he walks along beside her.

Without warning, he grabs onto her arm and pulls her flat against him, wrapping his free arm around her body.  His hand reaches up to cover her mouth just as a cry rings through her lips.  His arms flex and tighten as she kicks and thrashes against him, muffled whimpers leaking through the spaces between his fingers. 

“Settle down,” he orders in a breathy voice, wrapping his other arm around her waist.  “I told you most people don’t like it at first.”

Arianna responds by biting down on his hand, causing him to yelp and pull it away.  Before she can scream, his hand clasps over her mouth again.

“Fuck,” he curses, increasing his grip on her squirming body.  “You think you’re the first one to try that?”

When she whimpers, he laughs lightly, his chest rocking against her body.  “Now walk with me.  I promise I’ll take good care of you,” he says, beginning to walk forwards.

Arianna’s feet dig into the ground, stopping them abruptly until he begins dragging her forward.  She tries as hard as she can to stay in place but he is too strong to fight against.  Eventually, she gives up and walks along with him.

“Good girl,” he whispers, picking up his pace.

They walk down the hill and through the thin brush silently.  The only sound is Arianna’s loud breathing and her feet occasionally dragging on the ground.  When they reach the road, Arianna’s eyes dart around the street but they are all alone.  She cries out, despite his hand still covering her mouth and it is cut short when he abruptly turns to the left.  They walk further down the sidewalk, towards a black jeep that is parked beneath some overhanging trees. 

The man constricts his arm around Arianna’s waist as he uses his other hand to open the back door to the jeep.  She uses the opportunity to yell but nobody comes running through the darkness to save her.  She gasps as her feet leave the ground and before she can comprehend what is happening, he places her down on the seat.  For a moment, his hands are off of her, grabbing a seatbelt and pulling it across her chest.  Then, before she can move, he reaches over her and grabs another seat belt, pulling it tightly across her and locking it into place with a small key. 

“Do you like my restraints?” he asks, standing back and brushing his hands on the front of his tight, black jeans. 

“Let me go!” Arianna screams, grabbing the belts and yanking on them, trying to find a way out.

“Like I said before.  You can calm down,” he says, grabbing the edge of the door in his hand.  “Just trust me.  I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you.” 

Arianna watches with wide, grey eyes as he smirks again and closes the door, leaving her alone in the back of the jeep.


	6. 05.

Harry slides the seat back, stretching his long legs out to their full length and tapping his right foot against the floor.  He leans to the side and digs into the back pocket of his jeans, pulling out his keys and jingling them in his hand before sticking them in the ignition.  His hand twists and the jeep roars to life, bright headlights illuminating the street in front of him.  A quiet sniffle comes through the sound of the engine and Harry pauses halfway between buckling his seatbelt to glance in the rear-view mirror.

Her face is clear in the reflection, thin, wet streaks running down her pale cheeks.  He tilts his head to the side slightly, watching as another tear slides slowly down her cheek and drops off her chin.

“Don’t cry, darling,” Harry says, feeling his lips curl into a devilish smile. 

His long fingers beat against the steering wheel, feeling the jeep purring beneath his fingertips.  Her eyes shoot up to meet his and then quickly look away.  His smile widens, lips pulling up to the reveal several of his teeth.  He finishes buckling his seatbelt and shifts the gear stick into drive, peeking over his shoulder before pulling onto the street.

As he drives down the road, he feels the smile falling from his lips.  The excitement of catching her is starting to die and the dangerousness of the situation takes its place.  His eyes constantly survey the street, alert for the slightest sign of flashing lights.  His fingers drum on the wheel as he spins it and turns onto another street.  He glances in the mirror again and sees that she’s still crying.  A silent sigh falls from his lips and he shakes his head.  He hates how they never come willingly.  They always have to cry or scream the entire way.  It drives him crazy.

He tries to tune out her quiet sobs by turning on the radio but the stations are fuzzy from the weather.  He switches it off and grabs the steering wheel again, clutching it tightly in his fist.  They turn a few more times, slowly getting further and further out of the city.  Harry feels his heart leap in his chest as another car passes them on the highway, the bright headlights shining directly into his face.  A sigh of relief passes through his lips when he realizes he is just being paranoid.

He glances over his shoulder before turning onto a dirt road, concealed almost completely by overgrown trees.  The branches scratch against the sides and top of the jeep as they pass through and the darkness engulfs them.  Harry slows the vehicle, expertly coasting over bumps and rocks that stick up out of the dirt.  They drive for a few minutes, the forest around them becoming more and more dense.  Thin branches continue to brush against the jeep as they pass by, causing a sound no louder than a whisper.  Harry cranes his neck and squints his eyes as a pieces of a house appear between the trees ahead of them.

They emerge from the forest and into a large opening, lit with lanterns placed randomly in the yard.  A few other jeeps and trucks are parked on the dirt road that leads up to a huge house.  Harry glances in the mirror again as he rolls up the driveway and chuckles lightly at the sight of her face.  Her eyes are wide, tears still clutching onto her lower eyelashes and her lips are parted slightly as she stares up at the house.  The jeep comes to a stop inches behind the bumper of a large, pickup truck, dirt crunching loudly under the tires.  Harry shifts the gear stick down and twists the keys before pulling them out.  He pauses before getting out and turns around, leaning against the seat. 

“Welcome home,” he says to her, a smile pulling on his lips.

She ignores him, her lips pressing together as she turns to look out the window.  Harry chuckles and unlocks the doors, reaching out and opening his door.  He steps outside and slams the door shut behind him, yanking his phone out of his back pocket.  He turns the screen on and types quickly before turning it off again. 

He leans against the hood of the jeep, crossing his ankles and staring up at the house.  The tall, stone walls look cleaner, washed by the rain.  The long windows are still covered in miniscule drops of water, reminding him of the girls face only moments ago.  At the thought of her, he looks over his shoulder through the windshield of the jeep.  She’s focusing on the floor, her long, dark eyelashes casting a shadow on her cheeks and her eyebrows pulled together with a small crease in between them. 

“It’s about time.  I was worried this one got to you,” a deep voice says, causing Harry’s head to snap up.

A joking smile falls onto his face at the sight of Simeon strolling down the driveway towards him.  “In your dreams,” Harry replies, pushing himself off of the jeep and walking towards Simeon.

A smile finds its way onto Simeon’s lips, his white teeth a large contrast from his brown skin.  He reaches the jeep and walks up to the window, peeking briefly in at the girl.  “Very nice,” he comments, raising his thick, black eyebrows as he turns to face Harry.

“Thought so myself.”

“How long did it take?”

“About fifteen minutes, maybe twenty.  She was an easy one, not unlike some in the past,” Harry answers, laughing along with Simeon as they remember easy jobs they’ve had over the last few months. 

“You do have a certain way with them, though.  A technique I have yet to learn,” Simeon says, leaning against the door of the jeep and scratching his fingers through the short, dark hair on his head.

“You’re right.  I’ll have to teach you how to tempt the girls.  Then we’ll never have a situation like last month again,” Harry says joking at first but his face turning serious at the end.

“I’ve been working really hard, Harry.  I haven’t let my emotions get in the way of my work since Valerie-“

“I understand,” Harry says, cutting him off by yanking open the back door.  The girl leans back when it flies open, her face concerned as Harry and Simeon stare down at her.  “Let’s just get her inside.”

Simeon nods and steps towards the doorway, watching as Harry unlocks the belts one at a time.  She scoots sideways on the seat, moving further away from him as he reaches out towards her.  “Not this again, I just finished saying you were an easy one.  Come on, darling,” Harry says, bending over and climbing onto the seat.

She pulls her thick, bottom lip between her teeth, her eyes darting between the doorway and Harry’s face as he crawls towards her on the seat.  She continues to back up until she hits the far door, her lip popping out as she gasps quietly.  Harry smirks and approaches her faster, stopping when he is hovering directly in front of her face. 

“Isn’t this cozy?” he breathes, his gaze tracing slowly over her face. 

His eyes glance upwards and his lips curve up into a smile, dimples appearing faintly on his cheeks.  Simeon is standing on the other side of the window with his hand on the door, waiting for his signal.  Harry nods ever so slightly and the door flies open.  Simeon’s arms are immediately wrapped around her torso, a loud scream ripping through her lips as he pulls her outside.  Harry grabs onto her ankles, holding them tightly to stop her from kicking as he scoots out the door after them.

When his feet hit the ground, Harry releases her and stands up straight.  “You got her?” he asks, looking at Simeon.

“She’s not going anywhere,” he answers, tightening his large arms around her. 

She gasps and turns to look at Harry as he closes the back door of the jeep.  “Please, don’t do this,” she croaks out as Simeon begins to take her towards the house.

Harry glances up at her and runs his fingers once through his hair.  “It’s already been done, darling,” he replies, grinning slightly as he turns back to the jeep.

Gravel crunches loudly beneath their feet as they continue to walk up the short driveway to the house.  Simeon cradles her in his arms, gently but firmly until they reach the front door.  His hand leaves her body briefly to press the doorbell before it returns, wrapping around her waist.  She breathes in sharply and leans her head away from him just as the door opens, revealing another man.  His long, brown hair is tucked carefully behind his ears, swooping around them and falling onto his shoulders.  His dark eyes brighten when he takes in the scene in front of him, smiling down at the girl.

“Hello,” he says as Simeon pushes her through the door.

“No time for pleasantries.  Harry’s in a weird mood and I don’t want to give him a reason to be pissed off,” Simeon says to the man as they rush past him.

The girl’s eyes scramble to take in every detail of the house as they walk down the long hallway.  It’s full of all sorts of things that she wasn’t expecting to see in a place like this.  She takes in the empty beer bottles on the kitchen counter, the stack of cards laid out on the coffee table, and the laundry bin with dirty clothes cascading over the sides at the end of a hallway.  The entire house is modern, something else she wasn’t expecting.  The walls, floors and furniture are varying shades of white, grey and black. 

Simeon slows down, counting the doorways on the left of him before stopping in front of one and opening it.  The room is furnished with tall shelves, reaching almost all the way to the ceiling, filled with books and tiny sculptures.  There is a large, white rug covering the middle of the floor and on top of it, a single chair.  Simeon closes the door and locks it behind them before moving towards the chair.  He lets go of her waist and points at the chair, looking down at her.  She looks back up at him before silently stepping backwards and taking a seat.

Simeon works quickly, grabbing a thick rope from a hook on the wall and carrying it over to her.  “Lift your arms,” he says, holding out the rope.

She hesitates, her arms jumping in her lap and then remaining there for another moment before she lifts them.  Simeon grabs one of her arms and loops the rope around her wrist, tying a quick, tight knot at the top.  He proceeds to tie the other one, pulling them both together in the middle and tightening them before wrapping the rest of the rope around the back of the chair and securing it there.  Then he stands straight and looks down at her, his face softens for a moment before he clears his throat and looks towards the door.

“He’ll be in any minute.  I’ll leave you alone for a moment so you can collect yourself,” he says before beginning to walk towards the door.

“Thank you,” she replies, causing him to pause and suck in his breath. 

Before her words can get to him, he unlocks the door and steps into the hallway, shutting it behind him.


	7. 06.

Arianna’s breathing increases the moment the door shuts, coming out through her lips in loud gasps.  Her hands fidget in her lap, fingers trembling as she tries to clasp her hands together and steady them.  She flutters her eyes closed and then opens them again at the sound of a door slamming in the distance.  She listens carefully as muffled voices approach the room and then continue going until they fade into nothing.  Her head turns, eyes scanning the shelves around her.  The titles on the books are pristine, not a dot of dust on them.  The dark wood of the shelves reflect the dim lights above her head. 

She holds her breath in, forcing the tears collecting in her eyes to remain there.  Crying isn’t going to do anything to change her situation, she’s already here.  These people aren’t going to pity her.  She releases her breath, bending forward and resting her body on her arms.  Her ankles bump together as she lifts her legs, curling into a ball on the chair.  She buries her face in her knees and shakes her head back and forth slowly, sighing loudly.  The sound echoes through the tiny room and comes back to her, circling around her head, driving her crazy.

Is he coming back or are they just going to leave her here to go insane?  Her eyes dart around the room again searching for a clock so that she can have some idea of how long she’s going to be in here for.  When she comes up empty, she sets her head back down on her knees and closes her eyes.  She doesn’t want this to be real.  She wants to open her eyes and be back in her bedroom, waking up from an accidental nap.  Instead, when she opens them and raises her head, she’s staring at the tall shelf full of strange sculptures in front of her. 

The sound of the door swinging open causes her head to snap to the side.  Harry walks in, his large hands swinging next to his narrow hips that are clothed in black, skin tight jeans.  His dark brown hair is messy, thrown around in different directions by his hands only seconds ago and his are lips parted slightly, a flustered look on his face.

He lifts his hand to his hair, straightening the curls out in one sweep before stuffing it in his pocket.  A lop-sided grin falls onto his face, replacing the previous worry as he turns his head to the side slightly. 

“There you are, darling,” he greets, looking down at Arianna.

She looks away from him and shuffles her legs closer to her body.  The sound of his feet dragging when he steps onto the white rug fills her ears but she still doesn’t look up.  Her grey eyes bore into the floor as he becomes close enough for her to feel his breathing on her neck.

“Why won’t you look at me?” he asks, nudging her cheek with his finger.  The touch is faint but it still sets every nerve in her body on fire.  She can see his smile growing in the corner of her eye.  “I just want to see you properly.”

Arianna shakes her head, her lips parting as her breathing comes out faster.  “Don’t touch me,” she whispers, barely aware she said it as she continues to stare forward, petrified.

“Whatever you want,” he replies, stepping away from her.  His feet drag against the rug again as he walks over to the shelf on his right and begins running his finger along the spines of the books, his lip pulled between his teeth. 

Arianna turns her head slowly in his direction, watching his back as he picks up a book and flicks quickly through the pages, slamming it closed in his hand and setting it back on the shelf.  He glances over his shoulder and catches Arianna watching him.  He raises his eyebrows and turns his whole body to face her.  She tries to look away but she can’t seem to remove her eyes from his face.

“Ask me,” he says, picking up another book and slapping it against his opposite hand.

“Ask you what?” she counters, watching his lips curve up into a small smile.

“Anything you want.”

“Why am I here?”

“Except for that,” he answers, chuckling and placing the book back on the shelf. 

“What are you going to do with me?  I deserve an answer,” she says, her voice raising slightly.

“Well, that’s up to you.  I don’t make those kind of decisions.  Whatever you want from me, I’ll do my best to oblige,” he answers, beginning to walk towards her again.

Arianna looks away from him again and down at her bound hands.  She bites her lip and her eyebrows pull downwards.  What does that mean?  Why did he bring her here if he wasn’t going to do anything to her?  She takes a deep breath as he stops right behind the chair. 

“I want you to let me go,” she says, silence filling the room as she waits for his response.

He chuckles quietly, placing his hands on either side of her shoulders.  She can feel them on her skin even though he’s not making contact.  A chill runs down her back and she leans forward, feeling the rope pulling on her wrists. 

“If I let you go, this will all be a waste,” Harry answers, his eyes scanning her tense body.  “You’ll never get to see what I can give you.”

“I don’t care.  I just want to go,” she cries out, feeling her heart clench in her chest.  “Just let me go!”

Harry leans over her and places a hand on her shoulder, gently clasping his fingers around the fabric of her jacket.  Her head jerks to look at it and a frown forms on her face.  “I said don’t touch me,” she snaps, jerking her shoulder away from him.

His hand opens and lifts off of her.  “Sorry,” he mumbles, stepping around to the front of her.  “Did it out of habit.”

She closes her eyes and tries to calm herself down.  She doesn’t want to upset him when she can’t defend herself.  “Can you at least tell me where I am?” she asks, opening her eyes again.

“You’re in my house.  I thought you were at least smart enough to figure that out,” he replies, smirking down at her. 

“Why do you live in the middle of nowhere?”

“It makes business easier,” he answers, tapping the toe of his boot against the bottom of the chair.

“What type of business requires you to abduct young girls in the middle of the night?” Arianna counters, dropping her feet to the floor in front of his.

“One with very high profits,” he replies, smirking down at her, his dark eyes shining in the light.  Arianna freezes as they focus on her, bright green without a hint of darkness in them.

Her eyes scramble to study the rest of his face, anxious to find new aspects she missed before.  She studies his distinctive features from his nearly straight eyebrows to his heart shaped, pink lips, taking in every bit of his alluring face. 

Harry examines her face without her realizing, his quick eyes taking in every inch of her without even moving his head.  His tongue pokes through his lips and runs along them gently, his heart beating faster in his chest.  He lands on her grey eyes last, watching them widen in surprise but not break away from his gaze.  He can feel the dimples pressing into his cheeks as a large smile overtakes his face. 

“Would you like to know what those profits are?” he asks, causing her to blink and look away from him.  She nods her head a few times, breathing with her lips parted slightly as her eyes trail back up to his face.  “Then I’m afraid that you’ll have to stay here to find out.”

“Will you hurt me?”

Harry shakes his head from side to side, the smile on his face transforming into a solemn expression.  “I already told you that I won’t hurt you.  Why won’t you believe me?”

“Because you grabbed me and dragged me off to your house in the middle of nowhere and now I’m terrified out of my mind because I don’t know what you want from me!” she exclaims, her body trembling as she clenches her tied fists together.

“Hey, calm down, darling.  I promise I’m not going to hurt you.  That’s not my thing.  I don’t bring girls to my house to hurt them.  I promise,” Harry says, closing the distance between them by crouching down and placing his hands around her wrists.

Instead of telling him to get off of her, Arianna freezes under his gentle touch.  She glances up at his face, his eyes falling steadily into place with hers and causing a soothing feeling to sweep through her.  She studies his face carefully but she can’t see any dishonesty in his unfaltering gaze.

“Do you want me to tell you why I brought you here?  Will that make you feel better?” he asks, gently rubbing his long thumb against her cold skin.

“Yes,” she answers, pursing her lips together and nodding her head.

“I brought you here because I wanted to thank you for helping me earlier.”

Arianna’s eyes widen as his words process in her brain.  Her body reacts before her mouth can form words and she jerks away from him, slapping his hands with hers.  He withdraws quickly, his lips falling open as he leans backwards. 

“Well, this isn’t how you thank somebody!” she screams, her eyes blazing as his blink rapidly.

Tears fall from the corners of her eyes, streaming down her rosy cheeks and falling off of her chin.  Harry shuffles his feet on the rug and tries to not look directly at her.  His mind races as he tries to figure out where he went wrong.  Her quiet sobs fill the silence and he breathes loudly through his lips.  He glances up at her and feels his heart sink slightly in his chest.  He slowly moves forward and crouches down again in front of her.  She continues to cry, pointing her head down at her lap.

“Don’t cry,” Harry whispers, raising his hand to place it on her lap but then stopping and placing it back on his own.  She ignores him by biting her lip and closing her eyes.  “I’ll take good care of you.”

“Stop saying that,” she croaks out, opening her red rimmed, glossy eyes to look at him. 

“I will though.  I won’t let anyone hurt you.  That’s not why you’re here,” he explains, his eyebrows lowering in concern.

“I’m here because you wanted to thank me,” Arianna says slowly, her eyes scanning his as he shuffles closer, leaning his elbows against her thighs.  He keeps his eyes in contact with hers as he nods slowly.

“I want to thank you,” he repeats, moving his hand up her arm. 

He moves slowly, tracing his fingers lightly over the thin material of her jacket so her arm barely feels them there.  She follows his hand with her eyes, unsure of what to say or do.  Does she even want to say or do anything? 

Her hands tighten in her lap as he continues his slow pursuit up her arm.  She tilts her head downwards and watches his hand, her breathing the only sound she can hear.  All of a sudden, he pulls his hand away and stands up straight, turning and walking away from her.

“Where are you going?” she asks, her whole body turning to follow his.

He pauses and turns to look over his shoulder, a smirk pulling on his lips.  “Nowhere, darling,” he answers, his one eyebrow twitching slightly as he raises it.

The heels of his boots click on the hardwood floor as he steps off of the rug and towards the books again.  He stops when he reaches them and turns around, leaning with his back against the shelf.  His hands enter the tight pockets of his jeans, fingers tapping against his thighs.  The smile on his lips lessens but doesn’t fall flat as he watches Arianna’s eyes survey him.

“Are you going to keep me here, tied up like this the whole time?”

“Of course not,” Harry chuckles, shaking his head, “This is just for my purposes.  I wanted to test you.  Get a taste for how stubborn you’re going to be.”

“Well, I’m very stubborn,” she says, raising her nose to the ceiling, her eyes hooded.

“I’m sure you are,” Harry replies, cocking his head to the side, his smile turning playful.

“I am!  You’re not going to get what you’re looking for from me!  That’s why you should let me go!” she exclaims, her eyes widening and her arms pulling against the ropes.

“I can’t let you go.”

“Why not?”

“It would be against my nature.”

“Well, your nature is fucked up and I don’t want any part of it!”

“There!  I knew you had a mouth on you.  I was just waiting for your true colors to show,” Harry says, pushing himself off of the shelf and stepping towards her again.  “Curse at me again.”

“No!  I’m not going to say anything to you!”

“I hope you enjoy your stay in silence then, darling,” he says walking slowly around her chair.  Her eyes follow him, stormy grey in the low light.  Silence envelopes them as he continues to pace and Arianna’s silent anger slowly builds up inside of her.

“If I can’t leave, I want you to,” she snaps, jamming her bound hands between her thighs and glaring up at him.

Harry stops moving and leans down in front of her, placing both of his hands on the arm rests of the chair.  His face hovers in front of hers, close enough to feel the increase in her breathing as her lips fall open.  The corner of his lip lifts, revealing some of his teeth as his eyes lock on hers. 

“Are you sure that’s what you want, darling?” he asks, blinking his eyes twice.

Her eyes widen, dark lashes softening the light grey color of her irises.  She sucks her breath in, the sound audible in the heavy silence.  “Yes,” she whispers, leaning back an inch.

Before she can release her breath, Harry’s hands reach up and grab the back of her head, pulling her towards him.  His lips crash against hers, their noses bumping together lightly as he tilts his head to the side.  Arianna tenses up, her lips remaining motionless as he presses his own firmly against them. 

After a moment, he pulls away and turns his head to the side, exhaling loudly.  Arianna flutters her eyes shut and bites her lip, the rest of her body paralyzed on the chair.  Harry lifts his hand and runs his fingers through his hair, ruffling the curls before placing it in his pocket.  He stands and turns without saying anything, walking towards the door, not pausing until he is on the other side and the door slams shut behind him.

Once he’s gone, Arianna breathes out shakily, opening her eyes and looking around the room.  Her lips feel dirty, like she consumed something she wasn’t supposed to.  She wants to be able to lift her hands so she can wipe him off of her but they won’t reach higher than her shoulders.  She leans her head forwards, letting her hair fall around her face.  She feels infiltrated, like nothing belongs to her anymore.  It’s like he forced her wide open and now her contents are spilt all over the floor for everyone to see.

The sound of heavy footsteps on the floor causes her heart to beat faster in her chest.  She lifts her head and looks at the doorway, terrified that he’s coming back.  The door handle twists, clicking before it swings open revealing Simeon’s tall figure.  He adjusts the hood of his sweater, running his finger along the fabric and stretching it out as he walks through the doorway.  His eyes land on Arianna and he grits his teeth together, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

“Is he gone?” she asks him, her voice quavering.

Simeon nods, his eyes darting from her face to the floor.  “He wanted me to transport you.  He’s had a long day,” he answers, closing the space between them slowly.

Arianna looks down at the floor.  She knows that it’s her fault that he’s angry with her, Simeon doesn’t have to lie about it.  Her eyes flicker upwards when Simeon comes to a stop in front of her. 

“Is it alright, if I untie you?” he asks, his brown eyes focusing on her face.

“Only if you tell me where you’re taking me,” Arianna replies, leaning back in the chair.

“I’m taking you to your room.”

“I get a room?”

“Yes.”

Arianna hesitates, biting her lip and tapping the toe of her shoe against the carpet.  As bad as she wants to get away from this chair and this room, she doesn’t know if she can trust anyone enough to leave it. 

Simeon continues looking down at her, his previous worried expression turning calm.  “I know that he can be a little intimidating but I promise that I’m a lot more understanding of you girls.”

“Girls?” Arianna asks, her jaw slackening and her lips falling open.

“You know what?  I think it would be easier to explain if I just showed you,” Simeon answers, walking closer and grabbing the rope in his hand. 

He runs his hand along it to the back of the chair, finding the knot and quickly untying it with one hand.  Arianna sighs as her arms relax against her sides and watches motionlessly as Simeon ties the ends of the rope together.  He grasps it tightly in his hand and steps backwards. 

“Now are you coming or staying?”

Arianna glances up at him and nods, clearing her throat.  “I’m coming.”


	8. 07.

“Watch your step,” Simeon warns, gesturing at the steep stairs in front of them.

Arianna’s eyes trail down the steps one by one, her bottom lip being sucked between her teeth.  The stairway to the basement is wide and precipitous with smooth, sleek looking banisters on either side.  The dark colored walls have small, crescent shaped lights that cast a golden color against their skin as they begin their descent. 

The sight of the large, closed door at the bottom reminds her of every single horror movie she’s ever seen.  Her mind races with images of torturous activities and violent murders as they reach the door, her breathing increasing to match the sound of her pounding heart.  Simeon tugs on the rope, causing her to stop before he digs into his pocket and pulls out a ring full of keys.  They jingle in his hand, bumping loudly against each other as he flicks through them, searching for the one that will unlock the door in front of them.  He purses his lips and pulls his eyebrows together, frowning as he searches.  Eventually, he finds the key, his face relaxing and a tiny smile spreading on his lips. 

He sticks the key into the door and turns it before pushing the door open to reveal a room full of rooms.  Arianna’s eyes scan it quickly but she can’t seem to take it all in.  All along the far wall are rooms with solid walls on all sides except for the front where there are metal bars, making them resemble jail cells.  Inside the first four are individual girls.  Arianna scans each one slowly as Simeon begins to move her forward.

In the first room, she spots a young girl with shoulder length, dirty blonde hair sprawled across her bed, staring at the ceiling.  Her one leg is bent at the knee, her other one straight out and her hand is tapping against it while she whistles a quiet tune, ignoring their arrival.  In the cell next to her, a women around her late twenties is standing at the bars, her thin hands clasped around them and her light brown hair falling in around her wide, blue eyes.  Arianna cranes her neck and makes eye contact with the girl in the third cell who is sitting crossed legged on the floor with a notepad on her lap and pencil in her hand.  She lifts her free hand and makes a movement that resembles a small wave at her before running her hand through her short, shaved black hair.  In the last cell, the woman is sitting on her bed with a blanket pulled up and wrapped around her shoulders.  She stands up when they pass her and walk to the empty cell next to hers.  There are three more empty cells to the left of them, making Arianna slightly relieved to see that there aren’t as many girls trapped here as there could be.

Simeon lifts his hand when they reach the door and flicks through the keys again, finding the one for her cell almost immediately.  He jams it inside the lock and opens the door, revealing the medium sized room in front of them. 

“Here it is,” he says, looking over at Arianna.

She nods silently, continuing to look inside her room.  There is a single bed against the far wall, identical to the ones in the other cells.  It is made up with a large white comforter and two pillows leaning against the headboard.  There is a small table with a built in shelf next to the bed, empty except for a lamp and small alarm clock on top.  Before she can finish taking in the room, Simeon guides her inside, walking up behind her to untie the bonds on her wrists.  The rope falls away and Arianna lifts her hands in front of her face, examining the red indents left behind on her skin. 

“Enjoy your stay,” Simeon says from behind her, causing her to turn and open her mouth.

She doesn’t say anything though as she watches him close the door and lock it behind him before quickly walking away.  The basement becomes silent except for the whistling from the girl in the first cell.  Arianna walks over to the bed and runs her fingers over the comforter, surprised at how soft it feels against her fingertips.  She looks up at the wall and pauses, noticing a small, rectangular piece that is cut away from the rest.  She climbs up onto the bed and sticks her fingers underneath the wood, pulling it out.  She exhales at the sight of the small window, guarded with three metal bars running vertically down the middle of it.  She sets the piece of wood on the floor beside the bed and continues to explore the room.

She walks over to the opposite wall and finds another movable piece of wood that is covering a window.  She removes it as well and sets it on the floor.  Beneath it, there is a dresser full of clothes and a tiny fridge which she opens, her eyes scanning over the assortment of food and drinks.  She stands up straight and looks at the tiny, closed off room in the corner, opposite to her bed.  She walks up to the door and opens it, revealing a small bathroom with a toilet, sink and shower.  Her hand reaches out for the taps on the sink, turning them on and sighing when clean water comes rushing out of them.  The cold water runs through her fingers as she places them in the stream, leading them up to her face and washing it.  She leaves the water there, letting the tiny drops clutch to her skin until they slowly evaporate. 

She sighs and looks up into the tiny mirror in front of her.  Her face is white and her eyes are red rimmed, creating a large contrast against her skin.  Her lips appear cracked in the dim light and she lifts her hand and runs her fingers over them, tracing the rough skin.  Until that moment, she had almost forgotten about the kiss. 

Her lips tingle beneath her fingertips but the rest of her feels empty.  She looks different in her reflection, like she’s somehow changed in the last few hours.  She looks older, the shadows under her eyes prominent and her skin tired and dry.  She turns the tap off and silence falls over her, even the whistling has stopped.

She walks out of the bathroom, closing the door behind her.  She moves towards the table beside her bed and turns on the lamp, illuminating her cell with light.  Then she climbs onto the bed again and sits up on her knees, pulling her hair over her shoulder. 

“So, what are you in for?”

Arianna’s head jolts upwards and over her shoulder to look out the window on her left.  The woman in the room next to her is standing in her window, the white blanket still draped around her shoulders.  Her face is young and beautiful, highlighted with curious, blue eyes that watch unwaveringly as Arianna approaches the window on her hands and knees.  The woman’s long, auburn hair cascades over her shoulders, reaching down to her chest.

“What?” she says, her lips pulling back into a large smile, “I’m not allowed to make a joke?”

“It doesn’t seem like an appropriate time to be making one,” Arianna replies, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“You’re going to have to learn that there is no appropriate time.  Not in here,” she says, chuckling and wrapping her hands lightly around the bars.  “I’m Elaina.  Elaina Merrick.”

“Arianna Brinley.  How long have you been here?”

“Long enough to count but not long enough to worry about it,” she replies, pulling the blanket tighter around her and shrugging her shoulders.

“What?”

“It’s something my dad used to say to me.  It just means you shouldn’t spend your time worrying about things aren’t going to change.  Like this situation, for example.  It’s not like it’s going to change anytime soon so what’s the point of going crazy over it.”

“I guess you’re right,” Arianna says, chewing on her bottom lip.

“You’ll find that’s true most of the time.”

Arianna smiles slightly, tilting from side to side on her knees.  “How old are you?”

“Twenty four,” Elaina answers, releasing the bars to drop the blanket on the ground.  Her thin shoulders are prominent beneath her tight, black tank top as she adjusts her hair, flipping it back over her shoulders.  “You must be at least twenty.”

“Eighteen,” Arianna replies, sucking in a breath, “Almost nineteen.”

“Holy shit!  I wouldn’t have known if you hadn’t said anything!” Elaina exclaims, grabbing the bars again.  “I know he likes us young but that’s fucking insane.  How did you get caught?”

“Um,” Arianna hums, clearing her throat.  “I’d gotten in a fight with my mom and left the house.  I ended up at a place in the middle of nowhere where I used to play when I was a kid and he came out of the trees and grabbed me.”

“Just like that?  No previous encounters or stalking?”

“Well, I had met him earlier this evening.  He crashed his car and I tried to help him but he threatened me and disappeared into the forest.  It was strange but I quickly forgot about it after that.  I didn’t expect him to do this.”

“None of us did.  He’s smart, quick and charming.  You weren’t the first to fall for his mind games.”

“How did you end up here?” Arianna asks, leaning her hands on the bottom of the window.

Elaina laughs, the sound echoing through the basement.  “I’m sorry, it’s not funny how I got caught.  It’s just, I was so stupid,” she says, smacking the palm of her hand against her forehead.  “I used to work as a stripper at Bruno’s, I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of it.  It wasn’t a very popular place.  It was for Harry, though.  He showed up on the regular just to watch me dance.  I should have thought it was strange that he never wanted to see the other girls but instead I found it flattering.  Then one night, after my shift, I walked outside and he was waiting for me.  He put on a show, telling me how beautiful I was and teasing me with his sneaky remarks.  I fucking fell for it.  He grabbed me and shoved me in his jeep before I even knew what was happening.  I’ve been here ever since.”

“Does he ever let you out of your cell?”

“Of course, that’s his favorite part.  He takes you-”

Elaina’s answer is interrupted by the door to the basement opening.  Harry storms through it a couple seconds later, his face hard and his fists clenched.  He is closely followed by Simeon who is holding another girl in his arms.  Arianna’s eyes shoot open at the sight of her.

“Tammy?” she calls out, jumping off of the bed and running over to the door as she is carried past her cell. 

The girl looks at her, tears streaming down her flushed cheeks but doesn’t say anything.  The sound of the door a few cells down being opened causes Arianna’s heart to jolt in her chest.  Why are they putting her so far away from the rest of them?  What did she do?  What did they do to her?  Arianna feels tears welling in her eyes but none of them spill over.  She wants to see her cousin and talk to her.  She wants to know everything that happened so that she can stop freaking out over it.

“There he is.  Harry Styles,” Elaina says, as the door slams shut and footsteps slap against the wooden floor towards them.  “Fucking bipolar psychopath.”

Arianna tries to ignore Elaina’s comment as Harry approaches her cell, pausing in front of it and sighing in frustration.

“I don’t have the patience for you to be stubborn with me right now so for the sake of time, cooperate with me, darling,” he says, trying to steady his tense voice.

His green eyes appear dark again as he stares at Arianna through the bars.  His lips are set in a tight line and he’s breathing slowly through his nose.

“What’s your name?”

Arianna stares at him blankly, her lips opening and closing quickly.

“Tell me your name,” Harry orders, his eyebrows lowering into a frown.

“No.  Tell me what you did to that girl,” Arianna counters, finally finding her voice again.  She crosses her arms over her chest and glares at Harry.

“I said tell me your fucking name!” he explodes, the veins in his forehead popping up as he clenches his fists.  Arianna gasps and steps backwards, her eyes darting between Harry and the floor. 

“Do I have to force it out of you?” he threatens, grasping his hands around the bars and leaning closer.

Arianna remains standing where she is, aware that Elaina is watching her every move.  Her fists ball up and she takes a deep breath before stepping towards him.  “You don’t deserve anything from me,” she snaps, pointing her finger at him.

“I could kill you.”

The threat causes Arianna’s heart to plummet in her chest.  Harry’s eyes bore into her own, steady even though the rest of his body is trembling with impatience.  Her breathing comes out slowly and loud in the now silent room.  She can feel her hands sweating but she tries to remain calm and hold his tense gaze.

“What are you going to do with me?” she asks, causing Harry to relax slightly, his head tilting to the side.

“Why?  Are you afraid?”

“Answer my question.”

A smirk lifts his lips, dimples indenting on either side of his cheeks, just below his nose.  He chuckles deeply and turns, walking away without another word.

“Harry!” Arianna yells to his back as he swings the door open, allowing Simeon to walk through first.  He ignores her by stepping out and shutting the door behind him.

Arianna sighs, biting down on her lip and throwing her head back to look up at the ceiling.  She can hear Elaina laughing quietly to herself and she turns to head to look at her, raising her eyebrows.

“Told you he’s fucking bipolar,” she says, smiling widely again.  “You never know what to expect when he walks into a room.”

Arianna walks slowly over to the bed and leans against it, placing her hands on the mattress.  “Elaina?”

“Yes?”

“What does he want from me?”

“That you’ll learn in time,” she answers, bending down and grabbing something.  “Come closer.”

Arianna climbs onto her bed and crawls over to the window, placing her hands on the edge of it.  Elaina raises her hand and in it is a book.  She passes it through the bars and places it in Arianna’s outstretched hands.

“That’s to keep your mind busy,” she says, pulling her arms back into her cell, “You’ll go crazy trying to figure out what he wants otherwise.”

“Okay,” Arianna says slowly, glancing down at the book in her hands.  She looks back up and Elaina has placed her piece of wall back over her window, signalling that their conversation is over.


	9. 08.

_2 Years Earlier…_

“Fucking Eagles.  They couldn’t score a touchdown if their lives depended on it,” Harry splutters, slamming his glass down on the bar counter and sloshing beer everywhere. 

The man beside him chuckles loudly, slapping him once on the shoulder then looking back up at the large television screen in front of them.  “That’s why you should be cheering for the Jets.  They’ve yet to let me down all season.”

“Then I would have to wear that awful jersey to every game,” Harry sneers, “Besides, the Eagles have the sexiest women show up to their after parties.”

“Did you score again?”

“More than the Eagles themselves,” Harry answers, smiling down at his drink and sticking the unused straw between his teeth.

“You have to show me how you do it.  I’ve been riding high and dry for far too long now.”

“That’s because you’re an old man, old man,” Harry replies, smirking at his friend.

“True but an old man with new tricks,” he replies, pausing to take a sip of his drink before setting it back on the countertop.

“New tricks you say?” Harry replies, raising his eyebrows.  “Let’s find you a contender to practice on, shall we?”

“Maybe not tonight…”

“Why?  Are you afraid Jacob?”

Jacob scoffs, rolling his eyes and resting his arm on the counter.  “No, just intimidated by every women I see.”

Harry chuckles, running his finger along the rim of his half empty glass.  “That’s where you’re making your mistake.  Women are not something to be intimidated by.  They aren’t the intimidators, they are the intimindatees.  We’re the ones that are supposed to make them feel our power, not the other way around.  Just watch me and you’ll see what I’m talking about.”

“I have watched you, several times.  You take a different girl home every night, all while working the same area.  Yet, surprisingly, you never run into the same girl twice.”

“That’s because I destroy them.  After me, there is no more playing.  They’re hooked on one thing and one thing only,” Harry explains, Jacob hanging onto every word he says.  “You just have to know how to entice them just enough to keep them satisfied but not make them clingy.  That way, you’ll have no problems.”

Jacob watches Harry as he picks up his drink and downs the rest of it, setting the empty glass on the counter.  Harry sighs and glances at Jacob with a smile playing on his lips.  His gaze breaks away from his face and he scans the bar, his eyes sweeping back and forth while his head barely moves.  His eyebrows raise and a smirk falls onto his lips when his eyes fall on a girl sitting towards the back door.

“That one,” he says, turning back to Jacob before nodding his head towards the girl. 

Jacob watches as she sips on her drink, her full lips wrapping around the pink straw.  The dim lights cast a pale color onto her dark skin and a thin strip of white onto the top of her black, curly hair. 

Jacob continues to study her from his seat, his hands intertwining on his lap.  Harry can see his ears turning red and smiles at the sight.  “Not getting intimidated, are we?”

“Not at all,” he says, yanking his eyes away from the girl for a moment. 

“What are you going to say to her?”

“No idea.”

“Wrong.  You’re going to get her in your grasp right away, force her to forget all of her values, confuse her.  There’s no time for stumbling over words or fixing your hair.  You just have to get in there and stay in there.”

“So what do I say?” Jacob asks, scratching his fingers through his dark brown hair.

Harry sighs and leans forward, grabbing his new glass of beer in his hand.  “Ok.  So this is what you’re going to do.  In a few seconds, you’re going to walk up to her and immediately engage her in a conversation.  Start with a statement, not a question.  Something charming but not too charming so you don’t come off as a player.  Try saying short words so you don’t have the chance to make a fool of yourself.”

“So, could I say ‘You look like you could use some company’?”

“Now you’re talking,” Harry says, lifting his glass towards Jacob before taking a long drink.  “Now get up off your ass and go get her.”

Jacob stands up, takes a sip from his drink and straightens out the bottom of his black, button up shirt.  He glances down at Harry sitting on the bar stool and nods his head before walking away.  Harry lifts his glass to his lips, drinking while he watches Jacob approach the girl.  Then he shakes his head and spins around to face the television again.

The players on the screen are running with the ball, their feet moving quickly as they dodge the opposing team.  Harry sighs and sets his drink down, watching the condensation collecting around the outside of it.  He swipes his thumb across it, leaving a clear, dark colored mark behind.  He should be the one picking up the girls tonight, after all, he could use a bit of fun.  It’s been a week since the last time he was out and about but he just isn’t in the mood for sex. 

His thoughts are interrupted by the figure of Jacob sitting down in the corner of his eye.  “What the fuck are you doing back here?”

“She has a boyfriend,” he says, picking up his abandoned drink and finishing it.

“So?”

Jacob clears his throat and glances at Harry.  “I can’t have sex with a girl that has a boyfriend,” he answers, waving his hand to emphasize his point.

“She doesn’t have a boyfriend, Jacob,” Harry replies, running his hand through his short curls.  “That was her way of rejecting you.”

“You’re full of it,” Jacob laughs, signalling for the bartender to bring him another drink.

“Really?  Then you tell me what kind of girl comes into a bar, dressed like that with that lonely look on her face when she has a boyfriend.”

Jacob freezes in the action of grabbing his new drink.  “Shit!” he exclaims, grasping his forehead in his hand.  “I’m fucking stupid.  This is why we should have just picked up some prostitutes instead.”

“Prostitutes are so fucking boring though.  It’s just the same shit every time.  There’s no fun involved anymore.”

“Well, if you don’t want prostitutes, what do you want?”

“I don’t know but it has to be fun.  Fun and erotic,” Harry answers, smirking at the thought.

“Well, keep me out of it.  I think I’ve had enough of your ideas for a while.”

“What are you talking about?” Harry questions, a crease forming in the space between his eyebrows.

“I don’t know.  You’re going to laugh at me but after that embarrassing defeat, I’m leaning towards the idea of starting to settle down,” Jacob confesses, gritting his teeth together.

“You’re fucking hilarious,” Harry chuckles, resting his face against his wrist.

“I’m serious, man.  I’m turning twenty seven this year.  I don’t expect a manipulative, twenty two year old stud to understand me but you could at least take me seriously.  This doesn’t mean that I don’t want to have drinks with you while watching the game and listening to you reminisce over your top girl of the week.  It just means I want to find a girl and be with her.  Just one girl.”

“Fuck, you got all of that from one rejection?” Harry states, his jaw slackening.

“No.  I’ve been thinking about it for a while, just letting it sit there.  The rejection just made it seem like more of a reality for me.”

Harry whistles lowly before reaching over and picking up his drink.  He sets it back down again without drinking any of it.  “I think the sound of that changes my mind about the prostitutes,” Harry says, running his fingers through his hair before placing it on his lap.  “What do you say, Jacob?  One last run?”

“Sounds good to me,” he replies, causing Harry to chuckle.


	10. 09.

The sound of voices causes Arianna to roll over in her bed, her eyes fluttering open briefly before they close again.  She sighs loudly, lifting her arm to cover her face as her mouth opens to yawn.  The voices continue to talk, loud enough to be heard through her sleep but not loud enough to understand what they are saying.  She sighs again and lifts herself up into a sitting position, her hair falling over her shoulder and brushing against her face as she rubs her eyes.  She cranes her neck to look out her window but Elaina hasn’t opened hers yet.

Arianna blinks her eyes and turns to look at the bathroom, wondering if she should take a shower or not.  She lifts her hand and runs her fingers through her hair, catching them in tangles as they reach the ends.  She swings her legs to the side and places her bare feet on the floor, wiggling her toes against the cool wood.  A groan slips through her lips as she stands and walks over to the fridge, bending down and opening it before grabbing a bottle of water.  She screws the top off and takes a long drink before setting it on top of her dresser. 

Crouching down, she pulls open the bottom drawer, sifting through the shirts before picking out a plain, pink t-shirt.  She opens the drawer above it and grabs the first pair of jeans she sees, holding them up in front of her.  She turns her head slightly to the side, trying to determine if they will fit her or not.  Eventually, she nods in agreement and tosses them over her arm, along with the shirt.  She opens the drawer at the top and her lips fall open at the sight.  Her hand drops down and grabs out a pair of panties, her long fingers running along the lace.  She places them back in the drawer and grabs a red thong, her eyes widening as she turns it in her hands.  Does Harry expect her to wear these?  Her hands move to the other side of the drawer that is filled with bras that are just as lacy and exposing.

She bites down on her bottom lip and closes her eyes, picking out the first one that her hand lands on.  She does the same with the panties before she opens her eyes, looking down at the black bra with lace over the cups and thin straps and the tiny, pink boxer shorts with lace around the waist band.  She bites her lip again and stands straight up before walking quickly towards the bathroom.  She steps inside and closes the door behind her, setting her clothes on the countertop.  She glances in the mirror, running her hand down her cheek.  She looks better today despite barely being able to sleep.  Her eyes are brighter and there’s hardly any bags under them. 

She leans down and pulls her pants off, kicking them to the side.  Her hands grab the bottom of her sweater, pulling it up and over her head before dropping it on top of her jeans.  She stares at her reflection again, her eyes trailing up and down her thin body clothed only in a bra and panties.  She reaches up and grasps her arm, fingers pulling on the tattoo of an eagle just above her elbow.  Her eyelids flutter closed and she breathes in deeply, trying to imagine smoke filling her lungs.  It’s been too long since she’s had a cigarette and her body is just beginning to realize it. 

She shakes her head and lets her arm drop to her side.  She’s going to have to ignore the craving, she has no other choice.  Her hands tremble slightly as she walks over the shower, unclasping her bra and letting it slide down her arms before stepping one foot at a time out of her panties.  She reaches out and slides the shower door out of the way, her eyes examining the small space.  She steps inside, walking onto the rough tile and under the shower head.  Her hand reaches out and presses in the handle, a squeal escaping her lips when the cold water hits her.  She moves away, her back pressing against the door as she runs her hands down her face.  She waits patiently for the water to heat up as her breathing slows but her hands continue to shake against her bare skin. 

The water heats up quickly, steam floating off of it and fogging up the inside of the shower.  The moisture fills the air Arianna inhales, making it harder for her to breath but it’s the closest thing she can get to real smoke so she remains standing there, just out of the water’s reach.  Her hands continue to vibrate violently against her body so Arianna holds her breath and steps under the water.  The water runs into her face, pounding against her skin and matching the pattern of her shaking hands.  She lifts them in front of her face and stares at them, willingly them to stop.  They cease enough for her to grab one of the shampoo bottles from the rack beside her and massage some into her hair.  The room fills with the smell of strawberries and Arianna inhales, breathing in the sweet scent.  She rinses the suds from her hair, sighing as the water rushes down her tense body.  Then she grabs a bar of soap and runs it over her skin, washing the filth from the night before away. 

Once she is clean, she turns the water off and steps out of the shower.  Her wet feet squeak on the floor as she walks to the cupboard on the wall and opens it, grabbing two towels.  She wraps one around her body, tucking the ends in beneath her armpits.  The other she uses to dry her hair before she runs a brush through it, letting it fall across her bare back and drip water down her spine.  She shivers and walks to the counter, grabbing the clothes and arranging them before dropping her towel to the floor.  She grabs the panties, biting down on her lip before pulling them on.  The lace feels strange against her skin, uncomfortable almost.  They fit tightly, pressing snuggly against her thighs and leaving only a finger space around her waist.  She picks up the bra next, holding it in front of her face.  She sticks her arms through the straps and pulls it up, clasping it behind her.  It fits snuggly as well, the lace pressing lightly against her breasts but still uncomfortable.

She puts on the t-shirt and pants next, looking down at her body and sighing.  The shirt fits properly but the skinny fit pants are too baggy on her long, thin legs.  She grabs at the fabric, tugging them up further as she walks up to the sink.  She searches for other necessities, opening the cabinets and drawers.  She pulls out a pink toothbrush and toothpaste and sets them beside the sink before bending down and grabbing a makeup kit from the cabinet under the sink.  She brushes her teeth and applies a thin layer of makeup onto her face before leaving the bathroom and shutting the door behind her.

She walks towards her bed, the voices have stopped talking and now all she can hear is her bare feet slapping against the floor.  She pauses to slip on her shoes before climbing onto the bed and sitting down with her legs dangling off the side.  She runs her fingers through her wet hair, thinking about Harry and wondering why he was so angry last night.  Was it all because she didn’t kiss him back?  She clenches her jaw and frowns, staring at the wall opposite to her.

Her eyes move to the table beside her, stopping on the book that she still hasn’t touched.  Her hand reaches out and lands on top of it, her fingers spreading out across the cover.  The title is simple, written out in cursive on a plain, black cover.  “Secrets of the Devil,” Arianna reads out in a whisper, lifting the cover slowly.

She leans back, falling onto the mattress and resting her elbows against her chest.  She holds the book above her head, her eyes scanning over the words on the first page.  The words become jumbled in her brain as she tries to focus on them and not on Harry.  Eventually, she gives up, sighing and closing her eyes, pursing her lips together.  She slams the cover of the book closed and drops it onto the blanket beside her head.

Her hands fan out on the covers, fingers drumming against the mattress in impatience.  Her eyes flutter open, leaving her to stare at the ceiling.  She reaches up into her hair, pulling the damp strands over her shoulder and brushing through it with her fingers.  The thoughts begin to fill her head faster, causing her to bite down on her lip.  Why is so much happening all at once to her?  First she gets arrested, then abducted and now Tammy is here, too.  Her fingers resume their drumming as she wonders what Harry did to her.  What could he have done to make her so terrified?

Arianna feels her chest becoming heavy, filling with anxiety as she imagines Harry threatening her, hurting her, killing her.  He did say he could kill her, that part wasn’t just in her imagination.  The thought eats away at her, burrowing deep inside her brain, nesting there where she has no hope to ever get it out.  Her hands grab the sheets, clenching them tightly in her fists.  She holds her breath and squeezes her eyes shut, feeling the tension span out to cover every inch of her body.  She wants to scream but she knows it won’t do any good.

“Just breathe, darling.  It will come naturally, I promise.”

Arianna’s eyes shoot open and the air she was holding in comes out in a loud gasp.  She sits up on the bed, her head snapping to the side and her eyes widening.

“There you go.  Isn’t that better?” Harry asks, tilting his head to the side and running his thumbs along the pockets of his jeans.

Arianna doesn’t say anything as her eyes run up and down his body.  He’s wearing a black shirt that is half buttoned down and flapping open, revealing his tan chest.  His tight, black pants emphasize his long, thin legs, ending in black shoes, the toes shining from the light above him.  She lands on his face last, forgetting for a moment how tantalizing his eyes are and becoming quickly caught up in his playful gaze.

“If you’d like, I could take you out of here for a few hours,” he suggests, grabbing the ring of keys from his back pocket and twisting it around in his hand.  “You’ll have to cooperate first, though.”

“What if I say no?”

“You won’t,” he answers, his lips curving up into a smile.  Arianna watches him as he steps closer to the bars and sticks his hand through them.  “Come here.”

Arianna remains on the bed, watching his fingers stretch out towards her.  Her eyes move upwards, examining his face before she scoots closer to the edge of the bed.  Instead of standing, she pauses and stays there.

“Cooperate,” he says slowly, not moving a muscle.

“Why should I?”

“For your benefit.”

“My benefit?  What kind of benefit?”

“I can’t tell you unless you cooperate.”

Arianna sighs and raises her hand to her face, running the palm of it along her skin.  She looks over at him again and he smiles gently, wiggling his fingers.  She sighs again, pushing the air aggressively through her lips before standing up and walking over to him.  She pauses in front of his hand, only a few inches away from his reach. 

“All the way here, darling,” he orders, gesturing towards himself.

“I don’t like it when you call me that,” Arianna says, grasping her arm with her one hand.

“What else am I supposed to call you if you won’t tell me your name, darling?”

A short silence overlaps them while Arianna stares at him, unsure if she should give him what he wants or if she should remain silent.  Harry’s eyes travel over her face, his tongue peeking out to run against his bottom lip.  Arianna watches it, unaware that she is staring until he clears his throat.

“It’s Arianna,” she answers, her eyes snapping up to meet his.

“Arianna,” Harry says, his tongue cradling the word before his lips tug up into a smirk.

Arianna feels her face flush as he continues to smile down at her, the dimples in his cheeks becoming more prominent.  She glances down at the floor and tucks her hair behind her ear. 

“Take my hand, Arianna.  I can’t promise I won’t bite but I do promise a fun time.”

Her eyes flicker upwards, the blush fading from her cheeks.  His hand turns over so that his palm is facing the ceiling, his long fingers stretching outward.  The smile falls slowly on his face, his green eyes locking on hers, causing her heart to stutter in her chest.  She slowly raises her hand towards his, her eyes remaining forward.  Their hands touch, causing Arianna to jump slightly before she feels his fingers curl around the back of her hand.

“See, now we’re getting somewhere,” Harry says, letting their hands drop slightly as he uses his other one to dig in his back pocket. 

Arianna watches his face as he bites down on his bottom lip and small creases form next to his eye as he squints it in concentration.  When he pulls the ring of keys from his back pocket and turns back to face her, her gaze quickly moves to the floor.  Harry smiles slightly as he flicks through the keys, gently squeezing her hand in his.

When he finds the right one, he sticks it in the lock and turns it, a quiet clicking sound filling the room.  He releases her hand, letting his own fall back to his side as he pulls the door open.  Arianna remains in place, her eyes scanning the open space between them.

“Let’s go,” he says, gesturing for her to follow him as he takes a few steps backwards. 

“Aren’t you going to tie me up?”

Harry shakes his head, taking a few steps towards the door before pausing and looking over his shoulder, a smile on his lips.  “I trust you,” he answers, before turning and walking towards the door.

Arianna watches him as he walks away, feeling intimidated even though this is the first time she’s had control of the situation since she got here.  She raises her hand and grasps onto the edge of the door, her heart pounding loudly in her ears.  Harry pauses at the door, his hand on the handle. 

“Unless you think I shouldn’t trust you?”

Arianna’s hand drops, hitting her thigh and bouncing off of it.  Her lips part and she breathes out quietly, her eyes still staring directly at him.  Harry raises his eyebrows and takes a step towards her, triggering her to take a step in his direction.  He pauses, his hands lying flat at his sides and watches her take a few more steps.

She stops in front of the next cell, her head turning to look inside it.  She spots Elaina lying on her bed, fast asleep.  She remains there for a few seconds, watching her chest rise and fall before she pulls her eyes away and continues walking towards Harry.  She doesn’t look into the other cells this time.  For some reason, she doesn’t want to have to see the other girls watching her.

When she reaches the door, Harry opens it, swinging the ring of keys in his hand and grabbing the largest one between his fingers.  He steps out first, Arianna following closely on his heels.  He shuts the door behind them and locks it before turning to her.  Arianna is staring at the top of the stairs, her eyes unblinking.  The thought of escaping flashes before her eyes, her brain working hard to not let her muscles react to the plan formulating in her head.

“Come upstairs with me,” Harry says, walking up beside her. 

The space between them is so small that she can feel the heat from his body radiating onto her skin.  She automatically steps away from him when his hand grabs onto hers.

“Don’t touch me,” she orders, backing up until her back hits the wall.

“Alright, I won’t touch you,” he says, raising his hands up in defense before letting them fall.

“Okay,” she whispers, grabbing her arm with her opposite hand and stepping away from the wall. 

They walk up the stairs in silence, the only sound is their feet slapping against the wood.  Arianna looks down at the steps as she walks, grabbing onto the railing beside her.  She reaches the top first, pausing and looking up at him.

“This way,” he says, pointing to his right. 

They walk down the hallway, passing a few closed doors on both sides.  Arianna nearly runs into him when he takes a sharp right, walking into a large bedroom.  Arianna pauses in the doorway, her eyes examining the large bed with the high headboard, draped in white comforters and pillows.  The walls are a pale color and the floors are a sleek, dark wood, shining from the lights hanging above their heads.  The rest of the room is simple but elegant with a large, window on the far wall.  The blinds are drawn, blocking out the dreary, grey clouds on the other side.

She slowly walks inside, her shoes tapping against the floor.  Harry shuts the door behind her and without locking it, walks over towards the bed.  “Sit down,” he says, gesturing at the bed as he leans against the desk a few feet away from it. 

Arianna walks over to the bed, avoiding eye contact with Harry as he watches her walk.  She reaches down, her hand running over the sheets once before she sits, resting her feet on the floor and her hands in her lap.  They sit in silence for a few moments, Arianna turning her head to look at the alarm clock beside the bed, the ticking hand moving to the beat of her heart.  She twists her hands in her lap and sucks her lip between her teeth.

“Say something,” Harry states, breaking the silence.

“I don’t know what you want me to say,” Arianna replies, shrugging slightly.

“I know you want to say something to me.  Just say it.”

Arianna sighs and releases her hands, dropping them onto the mattress.  “You’re wrong.  There isn’t anything I want to say to you.”

“Darling,” Harry sighs, leaning further onto the desk.  “Don’t lie to me.”

“You know my name.  You can stop calling me that now.”

“I disagree.”

“Fuck you,” Arianna snaps, fists tightening on the sheets.

“There it is,” Harry replies, a large smile spreading on his face.  “I knew you wanted to say it.  Now I know how to persuade you.”

“You don’t know anything about me.”

“Not quite yet.  It will come in time.”

Arianna directs her eyes to the floor, staring at the base of the bedside table next to her.  Harry clears his throat and adjusts his legs, crossing his ankles and sticking his hands into his pockets.  He tilts his head to the side and watches her think.  The look on her face makes him want to know what’s on her mind.

“You’ve met some of my girls, I take it?”

Arianna’s eyes snap up to his face, hardening at the sight of his smirk.  “You’re insane,” she spats, her jaw clenching when she closes her mouth.

“No.  I’m just incredibly good at getting what I desire,” he answers, his eyes scanning her face.

“Why are they here?”

“Do you want me to show you?”

“No.  I want you to tell me,” Arianna replies, lifting her legs to cross them on the bed.  She settles her hands in her lap, shaking her head to push her fallen hair over her shoulder.

“I bring girls here to pleasure them,” he says, slowly running his thumbs along his thighs.

“So you rape them?”

“No.  I bring them in a room with me and let them decide what they want to do.”

Arianna swallows, her eyes looking up to the closed door at the other end of the room.  “Why?” she asks, her voice shaking slightly.

“It’s more fun that way.”

“So you just let them be free in here so they can do whatever they want?” Arianna repeats, still staring at the door.  “What if they tried to attack you?”

Harry locks his eyes on hers as she turns to look at him.  “Would you?”

She looks at him, eyes tracing up and down his body.  From past experience, she knows how easily he can overpower her.  There isn’t any way she could attack him and win. 

“You’d be surprised how eager you become after being locked up to have any type of physical contact with another human being.  Even one that you think you hate.”

“Think?”

“You don’t hate me.  I can tell by the look on your face,” he answers, chuckling.  “You’ll come around.”

“I’m not going to kiss you.”

“I never said you would.”

“You kissed me the other night.”

“That was a mistake.”

“It seemed pretty intentional to me,” she spats, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

“Trust me, darling.  You’ll know intentional when you see it,” he says, the left corner of his lip pulling up into a smirk.

Arianna glances away from him again, her impatience getting in the way of her temper.  She can feel him watching her as she lifts her hands and tucks her hair behind her ears.

“Why do you do this?” she asks, her voice quavering as realization of their conversation hits her.

“You’ll eventually learn that I get bored very quickly.  I needed something new to keep me on my toes.  This is what my mind presented me with so I followed through.”

“That girl that you brought in the other day.  The one with the long, red hair and blue eyes.  What did you do to her?”

“Darling, I don’t kiss and tell!” he exclaims, throwing his hands up in the air.  “But I could show you.”

Arianna shakes her head and looks down at her lap.  What did he do to Tammy that made her so upset?  He said he doesn’t rape girls but the look on her face the other night didn’t look like she had done anything willingly. 

“Well, if you don’t want to do that, what would you like?”

“Take me back downstairs.”

“So soon?”

“I want to go downstairs,” she repeats, standing up from the bed.

“Alright.  Let’s go,” he sighs, standing and walking towards the door.


	11. 10.

“What’s her name?”

“Xenia.”

“Xenia” Harry admires, biting down on the cigarette that is resting on his bottom teeth.

He watches her move, nodding his head carefully to the beat of the music.  Her slim body rhythmically sways, her hips alternating side to side.  Harry inhales, causing smoke to swirl gently on top of his tongue.  His chest is pounding so violently from the loud music that he can’t even tell if his heart is beating anymore.  He looks away from the girl for a moment and down at his shoes before lifting his head and blowing a small amount of smoke through his lips.

His eyes fall onto Xenia again, watching as she throws her head back, an inaudible laugh bursting through her lips.  Her long, curly blond hair bounces as she straightens her back, looking towards her friends.  One of them places a hand on her upper arm, rubbing the spot gently before she pulls her closer and whispers something in her ear.  Xenia immediately turns in Harry’s direction, her eyes darting around, and her cheeks appearing flushed in the flashing lights around her.

Harry’s eyes lock on her delicate face again, sweeping over her soft features quickly.  Her large, blue eyes continue to dart around, her curled lashes blinking and her enquiring eyebrows lifting.  She shakes her head once and reaches her hand down to brush some of her spilled drink off of her slender thigh.  Harry’s tongue darts out, leaving his bottom lip moist as he stands up and begins walking in her direction.

The music pounds loudly in his ears as he stuffs his hands in the pockets of his jeans, straightening his shoulders.  Xenia’s friends notice him as he pauses next to her but she doesn’t turn in his direction. 

“I can’t help but admire your dancing.  It’s exotic, enticing,” he says lowly, causing her to look over her shoulder.

Her eyes appear wandering, not able to fixate on his face.  “My dancing?” she asks, her lips spreading in a small smile.

“Yes.  Would you like to dance with me?”

Her lips fumble, bumping together in an unorganized way with no sound coming out.  Harry notices how her brows furrow and she looks past him. 

“But I can’t see you,” she answers, blinking her eyes once.

Harry watches her gaze continue to travel, passing over him a few times but no recognition appears on her face.  Her behavior is strange and Harry considers walking away until he realizes something. 

“Are you blind?”

She nods her head slowly, her curly hair bouncing at her shoulders.  Harry bites his lip, his mind running with an idea.  His foot takes a step closer to her, his hand reaching out and grabbing her around the wrist gently.

“I’m right here,” he says over the music.  He glances at her friends, who continue to carefully watch their every move.  “So what do you say?  Can I have this dance?”

“Okay,” Xenia answers, laughing nervously. 

Her eyes land on his chest, unable to tell where his face is.  He gives her wrist a light pull, guiding her away from her friends.  Harry walks further into the crowd of people, burying them far beneath the sight of either of their company. 

“Where are we going?” she asks, running into Harry’s back when he stops abruptly.  “Oh!”

“Right here,” he answers, slowly running his hand up her arm. 

His fingers wrap around her bicep while his other hand reaches up to gently cup her cheek.  Her skin is warm and soft, pale except for her flushed cheeks.  He lifts her face, directing it towards his.  She hesitantly lifts her hands and places them on his chest, trailing them quickly up to his shoulders and resting them there. 

“You’re so tall!” she exclaims, her lips popping open.

Harry chuckles and drops his hand from her face, placing it on her waist instead.  His fingers mold against her hip, feeling the gentle curve of her body.  He slides his other hand down, placing it on the opposite side. 

“Dance,” he orders, glancing down at her steady hips.

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t even know your name,” she answers, her hazy, blue eyes looking up at him.

“Harry,” he says, slowly moving their bodies to the beat of the music.  “And you’re Xenia.”

“How did you know that?”

“Lucky guess,” Harry answers, shrugging lightly. 

Xenia’s eyebrows pull downwards, causing two small creases to appear on her forehead.  Her hands fall from his shoulders and down to her sides.  Harry releases her waist, allowing her to step away from him. 

“You don’t have to be scared of me,” Harry says, turning his head to look at the band on stage as they change the song and then back to her. 

“Give me a reason not to be.”

A smirk falls onto Harry’s lips, glad that she can’t see it.  “My friend told me your name.  That’s how I knew what it was.”

“Why did you lie when I asked you then?”

“It wasn’t a lie, just a statement.”

Xenia stares at his chest again, her eyes blinking twice in a row. 

“Can I go back to my friends now?”

“Why? Tired of me already?”

“No.  I want to go home.”

“Let me take you,” Harry says, taking a step closer to her.

“You?  I don’t even know you,” Xenia replies, laughing loudly.  Harry watches as her lips fall back into a straight line. 

“Get to,” he says, curling his fingers around the waistline of his jeans. 

The muscles in his arms bulge and tighten as he tries to stop himself from reaching out and touching her.  The lights from the stage slice through the crowd around them, dancing on her skin and causing her wide eyes to glow and darken several times.  She looks dazzling and Harry worries that if he lays a finger on her again, that she might dissolve into nothing.  When in reality, he knows she will only scream.

The song picks up its pace, causing the crowd to cheer and accumulate further, pressing into each other as they jump around to the beat, pounding and throwing their fists up into the air.  In the transition, a large man bumps into Xenia, causing her to gasp and lose her balance, falling to the ground.

“Are you okay?” Harry calls over the crowd, dropping to his knees on the trash cluttered ground.

Xenia looks around when she hears his voice, her hand reaching out in his direction but not able to find him.  His bottom lip is pulled between his teeth as he watches her struggle, her face disconcert.  She appears so helpless, a thought that usually entices him.  Now it only causes him to feel empathy.  He lifts his hand and grabs onto hers, feeling her slightly trembling fingers wrap around his thumb. 

“I’ve got you,” he says quietly, placing his other hand firmly on her shoulder.

A shaky smile spreads on her lips as she stares at the ground.  “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you this isn’t the first time that this has happened,” she says, releasing an exasperated chuckle.

“Getting pushed over or meeting an incredibly sexy man?”

“Both.”

“Really?” Harry retorts, his lips curving up into a shocked smile.

“I wouldn’t lie to a stranger,” she replies, releasing his hand to push herself off of the ground.

“Why not?  Strangers are the best people to lie to.  They don’t give a fuck about the differences between your truths and lies.  I do it all the time.”

“Have you lied to me?”

Harry’s bottom lip is sucked into his mouth and his fingers begin tapping quickly against his thigh as he straightens up.  He tries not to hesitate as his lip falls slack again.  “No.”

“You don’t follow your own advice?” she asks, her voice smiling along with her mouth.  “Maybe it’s because you know it’s faulty.”

A loud chuckle slips through Harry’s lips and he lifts his hand to brush his hair off of his forehead.  The heat from the crowd is beginning to bother him and he glances away from Xenia to look towards the parking lot.

“So what do you say about that ride?” he asks, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Xenia bites her lip and closes her eyes, her nose crinkling at the end as she considers it.  Harry releases a low breath through his lips, his heart beating slowly in his chest as he watches her face relax and eyes open again. 

“Only if you promise to tell me the truth,” she counters, raising her eyebrows, her lips slightly pursed. 

“I promise to try.”

“Do you want to kiss me right now?” she asks boldly, her face remaining steady.

Harry’s eyes widen and begin blinking rapidly.  The sound of the request makes his lips feel heavy and increases the awareness of her beauty.

“I want to, but I won’t,” he answers, his voice steady despite the surprise.

“Why not?”

“Anticipation, inappropriateness and a bunch of other things you wouldn’t understand.  Why, do you want to kiss me?” he questions, a sly smirk pulling on his lips.

“I don’t know yet.”

“I do know something and that is that I should take you home before you get yourself into even more trouble,” Harry says, stepping forward and grabbing her arm in his. 

She flinches at his touch, her eyes finally finding his body again.  He glances down into her blue eyes, an eerie feeling spreading through him when he realizes nothing is staring back at him.

“Trouble seemed like your intention in the first place.”

“You don’t know anything about my intentions.”

“By the sounds of it, I don’t want to,” she says, chuckling and grabbing onto his arm with her other hand.

Harry smiles and looks ahead of them, carefully avoiding several bodies and guiding Xenia towards the parking lot.  The music begins to ring louder in his ears as they approach the side of the stage, the beat of the drum consuming his entire body.

He looks ahead of him at the cars spread out for almost a kilometer in the empty field.  Several tents are pitched strategically between them, every single one of them a different size and shape.  Randomly placed fire pits illuminate the wide, dirt road that they walk along.  The people sitting around them are too drunk and stoned to notice their arrival. 

Harry tightens his grip on Xenia’s arm and begins to walk a bit faster, the adrenaline beginning to seep into his veins.  His heart beats faster, thudding loudly against his chest and his senses heighten, eyes sweeping side to side as they approach his jeep.

“What’s the rush?” Xenia asks, as Harry drags her along.

“I’m not a big fan of walking across fields in the middle of the night,” he answers, smiling so his voice doesn’t sound strained.

Xenia purses her lips but continues to willingly walk with him.  They approach the jeep and Harry pulls his keys out of his back pocket, pressing the button to unlock the doors.  The headlights flash and a loud chirp fills the air.  The faint sound of the band fills his ears as he walks to the passenger door and opens it.

“Ladies first,” he says, helping her inside and closing the door behind her. 

He walks quickly around the front of the jeep, hoping he didn’t make a mistake trusting her enough not to tie her up in the back seat.  He opens the door and sits down, immediately sticking the keys in the ignition and starting it. 

“Aren’t you going to put on your seatbelt?” Xenia asks, causing Harry to pause in the action of pulling his phone out of his back pocket to look at her.

“How did you-?”

“I didn’t hear it,” she answers, leaning her head back against the headrest.  “Being blind just gives you an increased sense of all your other senses.”

“Alright.  I’ll buckle up then,” Harry says, rolling his eyes and then remembering she can’t see him.  “I was just texting my friend to let him know my whereabouts.”

Harry grabs the seatbelt and clicks it into place, sliding his seat closer to the wheel.  “Where do you live anyway?”

“Bronson,” she answers, tucking her hair behind her ear.  “It’s just on the other side of the river.  A large blue house right by the bank.  It’s about a fifteen minute drive from here.”

“Okay,” Harry says, putting the jeep into drive and pulling out of the grass and onto the dirt road.


	12. 11.

“How many times have you had sex?” Elaina asks, gripping lightly onto the tube of lipstick as she applies it to her lips.

“I don’t know if you want to know the answer to that question,” Arianna says, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.

Elaina pauses her hand, lowering it and waving the lipstick in the air.  “I have no boundaries when it comes to other people’s sex lives.  You’ll find that they tell a lot about a person.  For example, knowing that I’ve had sex too many times to count will inform you that I am unattached and unashamed.”

She lifts the lipstick back up and continues applying the bright red color to her plump bottom lip.  Arianna feels her stomach squirm as she watches Elaina.  “I’m quite different from you.”

Elaina’s blue eyes widen, her dark, upper eyelashes coming into contact with her eyebrows.  “Are you a virgin?” she gasps, covering her mouth with her hand.

Arianna nods her head, pursing her lips together.  She doesn’t know if she should feel ashamed or terrified of the fact. 

“Have you even kissed a boy?”

“Of course, I’ve kissed a boy!” Arianna exclaims, disbelief showering her face.  “I’m not that naïve.”

“Fair enough.  You just haven’t fucked one,” Elaina points out, raising her eyebrows and placing the lid back on her lipstick before setting it aside.

“Harry kissed me,” Arianna adds, sitting up higher on the bed.

“Harry kisses all of us.  Believe me, you’re not receiving any special treatment.”

Arianna falls back onto her heels, placing her defeated hands back into her lap.  She bites on her bottom lip, feeling the soft skin slowly slip back to the outside.  “Has he ever raped you?”

“No,” Elaina answers, completely unfazed by the question.  “Did he tell you he had?”

Arianna shakes her head, her eyes remaining forward.  “How long were you here before you gave into him?”

“A month.”

“A month?” Arianna repeats, her jaw dropping.

“I was very angry with him,” Elaina says, leaning her bony elbows on the ledge of her window.  “He tricked me and I don’t like to think that I trick easily.  He hurt my pride almost as much as he hurt my feelings.  I gave in to his games in the end though.  I think I always knew that I would.  I just wanted to play some of my own games first.”

“I won’t give in to him,” Arianna says, watching Elaina’s lips curve into a smile as she laughs.

“Keep telling yourself that, Arianna.  Who knows?  Maybe you’ll be more stubborn than I was, after all, you still have your dignity,” she says, pointing down at her lower half and smiling.

Arianna looks away from Elaina and towards her cell door when she hears the basement door being unlocked.  Struggling becomes prominent as a girl yells out, her sobs evident in her distressed tone. 

“Damn it, another one,” Elaina says, looking towards the door.

Arianna climbs off of her mattress and walks quickly across the cell, her heart pumping quickly in her chest even though the rest of her feels calm.  Her hands hang limply at her sides as Simeon walks quickly past her cell, followed by the man she briefly met, who is clutching onto a girl.

The girl screams and thrashes, tears streaming down her rosy cheeks.  The man holds her tightly, his hand gripping onto her arm like a vice, leaving white indents in her skin.  They walk quickly past, their feet shuffling loudly on the ground.  The girl screams again, the sound so curdling that it causes the hair on Arianna’s arms to stand on end.

“Is it weird for him to bring this many new girls?” Arianna asks Elaina, trying to pull her eyes away from the spot where they disappeared from sight.

“He hasn’t had this many girls in here for months,” Elaina answers, her voice surprised.

“Fuck,” Arianna says, walking back to the bed and sitting down on it.  “Just when I was beginning to think he couldn’t get any more insane.”

“Trust me, it’s only going to get more insane the longer you spend here.”

“Who is that man that brought her in?  I met him the night I got here but haven’t seen him since.”

“That’s Nitro,” Elaina replies, tossing her auburn hair over her shoulder.  “He doesn’t spend very much time here.  I honestly don’t think Harry can tolerate him most of the time.  He’s too peculiar.”

The sound of struggling and screaming heightens, followed by the sound of the door to a cell being slammed shut.  The girl’s sobs fill the air, her mumbling incoherent as the two men approach Arianna’s cell again.  Simeon glances in as he walks past but Nitro remains facing forward, his hands swinging limply at his sides.

“What’s going on?  We don’t need any more girls in here.  Even you fuckers know that!”

Arianna cranes her neck, her lips parting slightly.  One of the other girls is talking for the first time since she got here.  She shuffles over on the bed, placing her hands in her lap and listening intently.

“Calm down, Eliza.  I already told you last time.  I don’t have the answers you’re looking for.  If you want to know why, ask Harry,” Nitro says so quietly that Arianna can barely hear him.

“You don’t see me pestering?” Eliza exclaims, her voice high-pitched.

“Alright.  It looks like you might need some time out.  I’ll make sure to mention it to Harry,” Simeon says, swinging the keys in his hand, causing them to jingle loudly.

Eliza doesn’t answer and the room falls silent once more.  Arianna glances over at Elaina who is standing perfectly still, her eyes looking off to the side.  In the silence, she can hear the girl that was brought in quietly sobbing again.

Arianna waits until she hears the sound of the basement door closing before she gets off of the bed and walks quickly over to the far wall.  She grabs the small square of wood out, revealing the window beneath it.  The other wall is intact but she can still hear the crying coming from the other side.

“Hello?” Arianna says, waiting patiently for an answer.  When the girl doesn’t reply, Arianna steps closer to the window and places her hands on the bars.  “I know you’re scared but you don’t have to be anymore.  We’ll take care of you.”

“I can’t see,” the girl cries, her voice strained and tight.

Arianna frowns, her lips pursing together.  “What do you mean?”

“I’m blind!  I can’t see!  What’s happening to me?” she cries out, her voice desperate as she scrambles around her room, knocking the lamp over which shatters on the floor.

“He abducted a fucking blind girl!” Elaina yells, her face slackening.

“Oh my gosh,” Arianna whispers to herself, her hands falling back to her sides.  Her body feels numb as she stands by the window, trying to comprehend what is happening.

“I’ve been abducted?” the girl asks, her voice shaking.

“Yes,” Arianna answers, her lips feeling heavy as the word bursts through them.

“Where are you?”

“I’m in the cell next to you.  My name is Arianna and the girl next to me is Elaina.”

“I’m Xenia,” she says quietly while cautiously climbing onto her bed.  Arianna hears the springs in the mattress creak and she lifts her hands to the bars of the window again.

“Okay, Xenia.  Listen to me.  There is a window above your bed, you just have to pull the piece of wood out of the wall.”

“Okay,” she says and Arianna watches as she removes the piece of wood, revealing her distraught face.

“There’s bars on it.”

“I know.  Just reach your arms through,” Arianna says while sticking her arms through her own window. 

Xenia obeys, reaching as far as she can through the bars.  Arianna’s hands grasp around Xenia’s wrists, holding them tightly.  A relieved laugh slips through Xenia’s lips and another tear slides down her cheek. 

“I’m right here, okay?”

“Arianna, why did Harry do this to me?  He seemed so kind.”

“He’s done it to all of us.  I’m not really sure why.  It just seems he’s never done it this way before.  I can’t believe he’s so awful.”

“What do you mean, this way?”

“You’re blind.  No one else here is blind.  It’s cruel.”

“He told me he had intentions I didn’t want to know about.”

“He didn’t lie about that.”

“Is he going to hurt me?” she asks, the strained sound returning to her voice.

“No.”

“How do you know?” Xenia asks, her bottom lip quivering.

“I don’t.  I just keep believing it, that way maybe it will become true,” Arianna answers, gently squeezing Xenia’s hands in hers. 

The sound of the basement door opening again causes Arianna to loosen her grip on Xenia and she turns to look over her shoulder.  Footsteps echo off the walls and Arianna’s heart starts beating louder in her chest. 

“Who is that?” Xenia asks, her head turning in the direction of the noise.

“I’m not sure.  I’ll go and check,” Arianna replies, dropping Xenia’s hands and walking over to the cell door. 

She lifts her hands and rests them around the bars, leaning forward and pressing her face into the bars.  She spots Harry walking towards her, a pair of sunglasses shading his eyes.

She immediately removes her hands from the bars and steps backwards.  He walks up to her cell and pulls his sunglasses off, tucking them onto the front of his loose fitting, white long-sleeve.  He blinks his eyes a few times before a small smile falls onto his lips.  Arianna doesn’t return it, instead she looks at the ground and bites her tongue.

“What’s wrong, darling?” he asks, pushing up the sleeves of his sweater to his elbows.  Arianna doesn’t answer, causing him to tilt his head to the side.  Harry intertwines his hands behind his back, shrugging his shoulders upwards.  “Don’t make me force it out of you.”

Arianna remains staring at the ground, her fists clenching by her sides.  The sound of Harry pulling out his keys and sticking them into the lock makes her look up at him.  “What are you doing?”

“I’m forcing it out of you,” Harry answers, his eyebrows raising as he pushes the door open.

“Um, no you’re not,” Arianna states, raising her eyebrows as well.

“Too late for that, darling.”

“Yeah, darling,” Elaina adds, giggling.

“Elaina, stay out of it.  You’ll get your turn later,” Harry calls out, glancing briefly in her direction.  Elaina just laughs in response before she walks over to her bed and sits down.  “Now let’s get back to the point.  It’s your turn now, Arianna.”

“What if I don’t want one?”

“And why would you not want one?”

“Because you abducted a fucking blind girl, Harry!  That’s why!  I can’t even begin to explain how much I hate you right now!  Let’s just say it’s a lot more than before!” Arianna explodes, stepping towards him.

“Calm down.  I didn’t do anything wrong.  She’ll be fine.  You know I’ll treat her right.”

“You are so full of shit!  What’s wrong with you?  How can you even be saying these things?  Doing these things?  You’re so sick and messed up!  I don’t want anything to do with you so just leave me alone!”

“I can’t do that.  Why don’t you just come upstairs with me?  I think you need some time to relax and talk it out somewhere a bit more private than this.  We don’t need all the other girls listening in and shutting me out, too.”

“No!  I’m not going anywhere with you!  Leave me alone!” Arianna screams, tears beginning to rush down her cheeks.  She reaches up and wipes them away with her the sleeve of her sweater.  She turns away from him and walks over to her bed, sitting down on the mattress.

“Come on, Arianna.  Trust me, you don’t want to make me force you,” Harry says calmly, taking a few tentative steps in her direction.

“Leave me alone,” she repeats quieter this time, lifting her legs to tuck them against her body.

Harry sighs and walks towards the bed, covering the distance between them in a few long strides.  Arianna looks up at him, her mouth opening slightly as he bends down and quickly scoops her up into his arms.  A quiet gasp escapes her lips as her arms unwillingly grasp around his neck.  Before she can fight him, he begins walking out of the cell and to the basement door. 

“Put me down, Harry!  Right now!” she yells, glancing down at the floor.  A smile finds its way onto Harry’s lips and his eyes flicker towards Arianna. 

“Not unless you agree to walk upstairs with me,” he counters, his eyes meeting hers.  She looks away quickly, a frown falling onto her brow.

“Fine,” she agrees, pushing air forcefully through her lips.

Harry chuckles and releases his grip on her back and legs, letting her feet hit the floor.  Her hands are immediately removed from his neck and she steps away from him, her eyes focused on his face.

“What?” he asks, his lips turning upwards and his eyebrows lowering.

“I’m still mad at you for this,” she answers, looking away from him and beginning to walk up the stairs.

Harry pauses to quickly lock the basement door before running up the stairs after her, taking them two at a time.  Arianna walks faster when she reaches the top of the stairs, turning and taking the same path they did last time.  The heels of Harry’s shoes click on the dark, hardwood floor as he hurries to catch up with her.  She turns into the same bedroom as last time and doesn’t stop walking until she reaches the bed.  She sits down on the mattress and crosses her arms, watching Harry as he pauses in the doorway.

“Well, maybe I could take your mind off of it,” Harry suggests, leaning his tall body against the frame of the door. 

“I don’t have the patience for your games right now, Harry, so please just shut up!”

“You don’t mean that,” Harry says, shaking his head jokingly as he walks into the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

“What are you talking about?” Arianna asks, sighing in exasperation.

“You don’t want me to shut up.  You just want me to listen.”

“Listen to what?” she asks, her face scrunching up in annoyance.

Instead of answering, Harry silently walks over to the bed and sits down beside Arianna.  She looks down at his long legs and slowly shuffles away a few inches on the bed.  Harry glances at her and laughs under his breath.  His green eyes flash when they hit the light from the lamp beside the bed and Arianna feels her stomach lurch.

 “Now tell me.  What is so wrong with me?” Harry poses, turning to face Arianna, his mouth in a straight line.

“There’s too many things.  It would take all night.”

“Well, good thing I have all night then,” he sighs, lying back on the bed and placing his head on top of his folded arms.

“You’re insane.”

Harry scoffs, rolling his head to the side to look at Arianna.  “Aren’t we all?”

“No, you’re actually insane.  You’re a psychopath.”

“I wouldn’t say that.  I’m more like a sociopath,” Harry points out, a smile spreading on his lips.  He moves his hand from under his head and runs it through his hair.  Arianna freezes as his eyes catch hers, momentarily sparking in the light.

She turns away from him, swinging her foot and gently bumping it against the mattress.  A sour feeling enters her stomach as she stares at the empty glass of water sitting on the bedside table.  The bottom is foggy, indicating it’s been sitting there for a while.  She lifts her hands and tucks her long, dark brown hair behind her ears. 

“Why did you take Xenia then?  Please, just explain that to me,” Arianna says in almost a whisper, curling her toes to place them on the floor.

“The same reason I do all of this.  I just wanted to be excited about something again,” Harry explains, tangling his fingers through his hair.  “I needed to find new ways to feel the thrill of the chase again and Xenia excited me.  I don’t expect you to understand.”

“Why did you take me then?  What was so exciting about me?”

“I don’t really know.  I guess the reason I originally planned to take you was because I didn’t trust you not to tell the cops on me.”

“Not because I was beautiful or mysterious like the other girls here?”

“Well, that might have been a contributing factor,” Harry replies, chuckling.

“Might have?  You don’t even know what you’re talking about!”

“What do you want then?  For me to say you’re beautiful?” Harry asks, pushing himself up and squatting on his knees, the toes of his shoes bending into the mattress.  His green eyes survey her face, watching her cheeks turn a shade darker.  Her eyes widen, dark lashes batting open and closed as her lips quiver.

“I wouldn’t hate it if you did,” she answers, watching him shuffle closer to her and cross his legs beneath him.

“I think you’re beautiful, Arianna,” Harry says, the right side of his lips curving upward into a small smile. 

Despite her feelings towards him, Arianna feels herself having to hold back a smile.  Her cheeks flush and her face falls downward to look at the mattress.  She can sense his gaze on her and her heart begins thumping loudly against her chest. 

Harry tries to reach out towards her but she flinches away from him, her eyes shooting up to meet his defensively.  His hand drops back to his knee and he curls his fingers into a loose fist.  His eyes fall to the mattress while Arianna continues to stare at him, her fingers pulsating from the increase in her heartbeat.  She clears her throat loudly, causing Harry to look back up at her, his eyes blinking quickly.

“I still don’t want you to touch me,” Arianna whispers, her voice monotonous as she laces her fingers together on her lap.

“That’s a shame because I want to touch you so badly,” Harry replies, a tiny apologetic smile falling onto his lips.

“Is that your way of apologizing to me?” Arianna scoffs, raising her eyebrows.

“Yeah,” Harry answers, rubbing his temple with his finger and thumb.

Arianna bursts out laughing, the sound unexpected in the tense environment.  Harry’s eyes widen and his hands fall flat as he watches her smile begin to fade.  “Does this mean you forgive me?”

“No.”

“Why not?  Don’t you want to be friends again?”

“We were never friends,” Arianna states, holding the palm of her hand up to him.  “I didn’t even like you.”

“Didn’t.  So does that mean you like me now?” Harry asks playfully, a smirk tugging on his lips.

“No!  I don’t like you.  I don’t.  _Don’t._ ”

Harry continues to smile, causing the dimples in his cheeks to appear.  “I appear to have caught you off guard, darling,” he says, placing his hands next to him on the bed, fingertips pressing into the sheets.

Arianna watches him carefully, wary of how the mood in the room seemed to have shifted in the past few seconds.  His eyes latch onto hers before they fall away, the smile fallen from his face.  He concentrates on the mattress, his bottom lip catching on his teeth and being pulled behind them. 

“Harry?”

The room falls silent when Harry looks up at her, his eyes locking on hers.  Her breath catches in her throat and her entire body freezes.  She had forgotten how breathtaking he can be.  Her lips part slightly as she pushes air out between them.  She watches motionlessly as Harry lifts his hand and places it against her cheek, latching his thumb under her jaw while pressing his other fingers lightly into her warm skin.  His eyes evaluate her face, sweeping from her eyes to her lips and back again.  He leans towards her slightly and in her frozen state, she forgets to lean away.  His lips make contact with hers, the warm skin pressing firmly as his other hand rests on her thigh.

Arianna remains stationary, her eyes fluttering closed as his nose brushes against her cheek.  He moves his lips slowly against Arianna’s immobile ones.  She feels him exhale impatiently through his nose before he pulls away slightly.

“Kiss me back,” he whispers, his lips brushing against hers lightly before he presses them together again. 

He kisses harder this time, cupping both of his hands on Arianna’s cheeks.  She still refuses to respond to him.  He pulls away from her, dropping his hands from her face.

“I said kiss me back, damnit!” he explodes, shooting up from his place on the bed. 

Arianna startles, her eyes widening and her mouth falling open as she looks up at him.  His fists clench at his sides and his eyes blaze down at her.

Tears begin to gather in her eyes but she continues to look up at him.  He glares down at her for a few more moments before he turns and storms out of the room, once again leaving Arianna exposed and terrified on her own.


	13. 12.

It feels like the room is spinning and Arianna can’t seem to get a grip on reality.  What just happened?  A moment ago she was infuriated with Harry and all of a sudden, he was kissing her again?  Why does this keep happening?

Arianna feels the tears beginning to slide down her cheeks, dripping off the edge of her jaw and falling onto her jeans.  Her body begins to shake as sobs burst through her lips.  She clenches the blanket beneath her in her fists and lets the sound of her crying fill the room.  Loud gasps are forced through her lips as she struggles to breathe, the force of the moment hitting her fully.  She squeezes her eyes shut and curls her legs up into her chest, breathing slowly through her clenched teeth.

_“Arianna!”_

Her hands reach up and cover her eyes, pressing roughly into her skin.  Tears continues to roll down her cheeks, leaving a wet sheen behind.  Her chest shakes, rising and falling in an unorganized, crazy pattern.

_“Arianna!  You can’t keep doing this!”_

Arianna’s hands move up to her temples where they form into fists.  Her breathing becomes shallow and forced, sobs shakily escaping her open lips.  Her mother’s livid face flashes before her eyes, the look of disappointment in her eyes causing her insides to curl. 

_“You know better than this.”_

“I’m sorry, Mom,” Arianna whispers, as she wipes away her tears using the sleeves of her shirt.  “I’m so sorry.”

Her head collapses into her knees and her body shakes as a new round of sobs course through her.  She squeezes her eyes shut until tiny stars burst on the inside of her eyelids.  Her legs curl further into her body, pressing tightly into her shaking chest.  Hands grip the sheets as she clenches her jaw, breathing slowly through the close spaces in her teeth. 

Harry’s angry eyes flash in and out of her mind as her own eyes shoot towards the door.  A feeling of vulnerability strikes her and she feels all of her senses heighten.  She lifts her arms and wipes the tears off of her cheeks, sniffling quietly as she watches the door, her lips popping open.  Her heart thumps steadily in her chest, the sound echoing in her ears, causing her head to throb with every beat.

She allows her legs to drop, feet thudding on the floor as her hands fall onto her thighs, fingers tapping quickly against the loose material of her jeans.  The thought of escaping enters her mind for the second time since she got here.  The idea simmers in her brain, sending her dancing fingers into a frenzy.  Her tongue sweeps out and runs along her dry lips quickly, tasting the salty remains of her tears before it disappears back inside.

It feels like her mind is working in slow motion as she stands up from the bed and remains there for a few seconds with her hands lying limply at her sides.  Adrenaline rushes through her body, making her muscles feel tense and aching to move.  She pulls her eyes away from the door and immediately begins surveying her surroundings.  She knows that she doesn’t have much time before Harry returns or she is taken back downstairs.

She quickly takes in the seemingly empty bedroom, her hands twitching at her sides as frustration builds in her.  She turns and looks at the bed before crouching down and peeking under it.  She sighs quietly and pushes herself back up when she finds nothing.  Her feet move quickly as she approaches the dresser beside the bed, yanking the drawer open and staring down at the assortment of pencils and pens.  She shakes her head and closes the drawer, hearing the utensils roll on the wooden bottom. 

Arianna looks around the barren room and feels her heart sink in her chest.  “Fuck,” she whispers under her breath, slowly backing up and sitting down on the mattress. 

She raises her fingers into her hair, brushing them through the dark strands and holding them there for a couple seconds.  The moment is gone and she knows there probably won’t be another one.  She lowers her hands, hooking her fingers in the space between the frame of the bed and the mattress.  Almost instantly, she pulls her hands away, hissing through her teeth and raising her right hand to her face.  A small cut stretches across the tip of her finger, drops of blood running all the way down to her knuckle.  She bites her lip and crouches back down on the floor, her eyes sweeping along the bottom of the mattress.  She slips her fingers beneath it again, lifting the mattress up a few inches and revealing a small knife.  Her face falls sullen for a moment, the surprise of finding the weapon catching her off guard.

She places her fingers around the handle and lifts it up, examining the thin blade and heavy handle of the dagger.  She exhales slowly, letting the mattress fall back against the frame with a loud sigh.  Her hand wraps around the handle, clutching it tightly as she stands up straight.  She turns and looks at the door once more, the sound of her breathing playing in her ears.  The cold steel of the blade hits her thigh as she takes a step forward and she pauses to glance down at it.  Could she really kill someone if she had to?

She shakes her head slightly, exhaling shakily through her dry lips.  Her eyes dart to the dark wood of the door, surveying it quickly until her eyes land on the black handle.  The soles of her shoes pad quietly on the wooden floor as she walks towards the door.  She can feel the palm of her hand becoming sweaty causing her to clench to handle of the knife tighter.  She reaches the door faster than she expected and she lifts her hand, placing it on the handle.  The metal is cold against her hot skin and she feels goosebumps shooting up her arm as she slowly pulls it open.

The hallway is empty as Arianna steps out of the bedroom and shuts the door quietly behind her.  Her head sweeps quickly from left to right before she steps forward, her feet barely making a sound on the floor.  Her heart bounds in her chest, consuming her ears with a loud thumping noise.  The knife swings stiffly at her side, her muscles in her arms tense from the adrenaline that is still rushing through her body.  Her eyes never stop moving, soaking in every detail that she missed before.  The walls have several paintings and drawings on them, framed and hanging with no signature of the artist.  Arianna finds it strange as she walks down the long hallway that there are no photographs among them.  She creeps past the stairs that head down into the basement, only taking a second to glance all the way to the bottom.  The thought of Elaina, Xenia and Tammy enter her mind and she stops.  How can she leave them behind?  She bites down on her lip as her feet shuffle on the floor.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

The voice causes Arianna to yelp and spin around on her heel.  Her heart pauses its thunderous roar for a moment when she takes in the figure of Simeon standing behind her.

“Hey!  Where did you get that?” Simeon exclaims, pointing at the knife that is still clutched tightly in her fist.  She glances at the knife and then back up at Simeon.

“You shouldn’t leave weapons just laying around if you didn’t want them to be found,” she answers, pulling her hands behind her back so that Simeon doesn’t see how they’ve just begun to shake.

“Give it to me,” he orders, stretching out his arm and taking a step towards her.

“Don’t make me use it,” Arianna threatens, stepping back from him.

“Is that the first time you’ve ever threatened someone?”

“That isn’t any of your business,” Arianna snaps, jutting her chin upwards.  “Why?”

“You’re trembling like the ground during an earthquake,” Simeon replies, his chest shaking as he lets out a hearty laugh.

“Try and stop me then,” Arianna says, causing his laughter to stop abruptly.

“I won’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because I like you,” he answers, glancing at her with soft eyes.  “And I’m sure you have a reason for acquiring it.”

Arianna feels her body relax slightly as she looks up at Simeon’s face.  She slowly pulls the knife out from behind her back and looks down at it while twisting her wrist slightly.  “More than one reason, actually.”

“You can tell me.”

“I don’t know if I feel comfortable doing that,” Arianna says, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Don’t worry, you can trust me.  I feel sorry for you girls being trapped up in here all the time.  I want you to have someone you can confide in and I know that none of the others will be willing to do the job.”

“Are you going to tell Harry about the knife?”

“I’m not going to tell Harry about anything.”

Arianna bites down on her bottom lip and chews on it slowly and gently.  Her fingers twitch around the handle of the knife and she feels a different kind of adrenaline shoot through her body.

“I’m afraid he’s going to hurt me,” she bursts out, her eyes widening.

Simeon reaches out and grabs her by the arm, quickly pulling her behind the wide staircases that leads upstairs.  A high-pitched gasp slips through Arianna’s lips and she reaches out with her free hand to grasp onto the railing.  She struggles against him as he tries to pull her further, huffing loudly through her lips as his grip tightens on her wrist.

“Come with me.  Someone might see us,” Simeon pleads, his dark eyebrows pulling closer together.

Arianna glances over her shoulder and then back at Simeon before she follows him into the small space between the wall and the stairs.  She looks up at his face and he nods, signalling for her to go on.

“He threatened to kill me and I keep giving him reasons to.”

“I’m sure you’re not giving him reasons to and I’m sure he didn’t mean it.  It’s just the way he is.  He’s unpredictable and has a short temper.  I’ve known him for years but I still don’t really know him.  Even I set him off every now and again.”

“I keep making him angry though.  One of these times, I’m going to push him over the edge, I just know it.”

“No, you won’t.”

“How can you say that?  You haven’t seen the way I act around him.  You didn’t seen the look he just had on his face.”

“I know because I’m going to get you out of here.”  Simeon glances to the side, his eyes sweeping between the bars in the railing.  He releases a low breath and turns back to Arianna.  “Give me the knife.”

“What?”

“If you want to get out of here, I’ll need the knife.  Just trust me.”

Arianna scans his face, her breathing coming to a halt for a moment.  Simeon holds out his hand to her and nods his head quickly.  She hesitates before spinning the knife around in her hand and placing the handle in his large hand.

“Now trust me and don’t scream,” he whispers, grabbing her upper arm and spinning her around.

Her gasp is the only sound she makes as he grabs a fistful of her hair and slides the knife across it, letting the cut strands flutter to the floor.

“What are you doing?” she asks, fluttering her eyes closed and open again.

“If you want to escape undetected, you will have to not look like yourself,” he explains, grabbing another handful of hair and cutting it off.  The jagged pieces fall just below her shoulders, laying uneven on her pale skin. 

“Oh,” she breathes, studying the wall ahead of her. 

There is a shelf near the doorway with several vases lined up in a row.  Arianna notes the empty space between the last one and the one before it, wondering where the missing vase is.  Her eyes trail down to the floor where she spots a foot sized dent in the wall, just above the dark brown trim.

“It’s not great, but it will do.  You can always get it fixed once you’re free,” Simeon says, brushing her hair through his fingers.  “Here.  Take the knife.”

“You trust me.”

“Not completely but you’ll need something to defend yourself with, just in case.”

“Do you think he’ll come after me?”

“He’ll try.  He won’t be happy with me for helping you,” Simeon answers, brushing his fingertips along his chin.

“Then why are you?”

“Because as much as I enjoy being his friend, I don’t always enjoy the things that come along with it,” he explains, walking slowly to the base of the stairs.  He turns to Arianna and gestures for her to follow him.  “And you are far too young and kind to be in here.”

“What about Tammy, Xenia and Elaina?  What about all the other girls that are still here?  They’ve been here longer than I have.  Why aren’t you helping them?” Arianna questions, pausing just in front of the staircase.

“How about we deal with this one girl at a time?”

Arianna feels her stomach sinking as she continues to think about her cousin and friends that are still locked up in the basement.  The logical decision would be to leave right now before they are caught but is it the right thing to do?

“Now, come on before Harry comes back looking for you,” Simeon urges, raising his thick eyebrows and grabbing onto Arianna’s arm.

She lets out a soundless breath as he begins pulling her towards the doorway.  They walk quickly down the hallway, the sound of their shoes echoing around them.  Arianna’s head whips over her shoulder and she’s not sure if she is checking for Harry or looking back in the direction of her friends.  Not that she can call them her friends once she abandons them.

They arrive at the front door and Simeon reaches out, his hands jumpy from the excitement and nerves.  He twists the handle open and jerks the door open towards them.  A small breeze picks up, blowing fresh afternoon air straight into their faces.  Arianna barely has time to enjoy the short burst of freedom before Simeon yanks her arm, dragging her behind him as he jogs across the porch and down the driveway.

“Head into the forest and just run straight until you can see the river.  After that turn left and keeping running until you reach the city.  Just remember, no one can know about this place,” Simeon orders, his eyes holding onto her wide ones as their feet crunch in the gravel driveway.

“O-Okay,” Arianna stutters, nodding her head and turning to face the forest in front of them.

“Now run,” Simeon whispers, jolting her forward with his arm.

She gasps and momentarily loses her balance, tripping over the long grass before she catches herself.  She pauses for a brief second and glances over her shoulder at the tall, kind man behind her. 

“Thank you, Simeon,” she says and she notes the small smile that shines on his face before she turns and runs into the thick forest.


	14. 13.

The house is quiet as Simeon walks through the front door, closing it silently behind him.  His large feet drag briefly on the carpet on the other side of the door as he turns to close it behind him.  He pauses in the entranceway, his hand lifting to wipe the thin layer of sweat off of his forehead.  His breathing steadies and he whistles lowly, beginning to walk down the hallway.  His brown eyes dart in every direction as he walks, fully aware that Harry could discover her missing at any moment.

The sound of voices coming from the basement causes him to veer into the kitchen.  The room is empty and all of the curtains are pulled shut, leaving it darker than the rest of the house.  Simeon walks over to the windows and yanks the curtains open with a grunt.  He reaches down and lifts the window open before leaning on the ledge and closing his eyes.  The wind blows against his face, causing him to close his eyes tighter.

His stomach twists as a clap of thunder reaches his ears followed by the sound of rain starting to patter against the house.  The large droplets hit his face, running down his body and soaking into his t-shirt.  He flinches as another thunderous roar fills the air around him and his eyes fly open.  He doesn’t even need to turn around to know that she is standing behind him.

“Valerie,” he says, regretting the name as soon as it falls from his lips.

“Listen to the rain.  I like the rain,” she says, staring blankly at the open window.

“What are you doing here?  You know Harry told me to stay away from you.”

“Harry doesn’t control me,” she replies, walking closer to Simeon. 

Her bare feet move soundlessly over the tile as she lifts her hands and tucks her waist length blonde hair behind her ears.  He sucks in his breath as he looks back out the window, trying to ignore her demanding presence when she appears again in the corner of his eye.  She rests her hands on the windowsill and leans forward until her head is sticking out of the window.  Rain pours down on her head, soaking her hair and causing it to stick to her face.  Simeon quickly reaches up and grabs onto her shoulders, pulling her back inside.

“Get back in here,” he whispers forcefully, dragging her into the middle of the kitchen. 

Her dark green eyes stare at him questioningly before she lifts her hand and strokes his cheek.  A shaky breath slips through his lips and he closes his eyes before opening them again. 

“I’ve already told you.  I won’t do this,” he says, causing her hand to drop.

“Then you understand what the alternative is,” she reminds him, walking back over to the window and staring quietly into the yard.  Simeon locks his eyes on the back of her head, watching drops of water fall from the ends of her hair and make a small puddle at her feet.

“I understand but I still don’t agree with it,” he says, watching her shoulders slump as she leans against the windowsill.

“I don’t need your permission.  I don’t belong to you,” she replies, standing up abruptly and storming past him.

“Valerie, please!  You know I can change things.  If you would just give me a little more time!” Simeon shouts as she disappears behind the corner.  “Valerie!”

The sound of her footsteps disappearing causes his gaze to fall to the floor.  He can feel his heart slowly sinking in his chest and knows that he has let her down.  The sound of footsteps approaching causes his head to snap up.

“Son of a bitch!  Simeon, where is she?”

Simeon barely has time to collect himself before Harry comes storming around the corner and into the kitchen.

“Valerie?”

“No!  Arianna!”

His blazing eyes lock onto Simeon’s face as he reaches him, his chest heaving up and down as he straightens himself up to Simeon’s staggering height.  Simeon steps backwards, holding his hands up defensively.  “Just calm down and I’ll explain,” he pleads as Harry continues to approach him.

“I don’t have time to listen to your fucking explanation!  She’ll be halfway across the country by then!” he roars, squeezing his fists together so tightly that all of the veins on his arms pop up. 

“Harry, just-”

“Tell me where she is!”

Simeon sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose.  He quickly debates over whether or not he should give up Arianna’s whereabouts while Harry’s impatience continues to escalate. 

“Simeon!  Now!”

“I sent her west, towards the river,” he reveals, sighing at the end.  He watches as Harry’s breathing slows for a moment, the dry breeze from outside ruffling his hair.  This is the calm before the storm.

Before Simeon can take another breath, Harry spins on his heel and walks furiously towards the door.  “Grab me a rope!” he calls out as Simeon jogs on his heels.

Simeon pauses and opens the closet door on his right, revealing a small space with a selection of ropes hanging on hooks.  He grabs the nearest one and slams the door shut before following Harry outside through the door he left wide open.  His heavy feet pound on the loose earth as he runs to catch up with him.  He spots him just in front of a tall elm tree, examining the ground.  He reaches him quickly, breathing heavily and holding out the rope to him.  Then he follows Harry’s gaze to the ground and feels his heart sink at the sight of Arianna’s feet imprinted into the soft dirt.  Harry glances up at him and yanks the rope out of his hand.  Simeon stutters incoherent words as Harry quickly begins jogging into the trees, his eyes never lifting from the trail of footprints.

“Do you want me to come along?” Simeon shouts after him, taking a few tentative steps in his direction.

“No!  Stay in the driveway!  I’ll expect you to be there when I bring her back!” Harry replies, the tone of his voice harsh. 

Simeon stops in his tracks, his boots dragging in the dirt.  A low breath slips through his lips before he turns and walks back towards the house.

Harry sighs through his lips when the sound of Simeon’s footsteps disappear.  The noise of the forest takes his place, ensnaring his senses and distracting him from his mission.  His eyes sweep back and forth although he knows she will be far from sight by now.  How long was it from the time he stormed out on her to the time when Simeon set her free?  She could be anywhere by now.

Anger is the only thing that keeps him going as he starts to run through the trees, dodging stray stumps and twigs as his feet pound faster against the soil.  His eyes fall back to her smeared tracks and he grunts, wiping away the sheen of sweat that has started to collect on his brow.

He continues to pursue her for what feels like hours, glad when he glances upwards that the sun is hidden behind the thick layer of clouds.  His breaths come out in short puffs and his muscles scream in protest as he jogs up a steep hill.  He pauses at the top and searches the terrain in front of him.  A small river flows at the bottom of the hill, churning and bubbling against the shore.  The loud sound of running water disguises the snap of the twig Harry breaks as he treads along the top of the hill.  His eyes never stop surveying the area as he steps a little further from her trail, looking down the side of it up ahead and noticing the ripped up leaves and grass from when she slid down the side of it.

He lifts his hand and brushes his hair from his face, cursing under his breath as he begins to walk down the steep slope.  His shoes skid on the loose dirt and he gasps, sticking out his hand to catch himself.  His eyes fly forward and that’s when he spots her, stumbling along the riverbed a few meters away.


	15. 14.

The shallow water pools beneath Arianna’s tired feet as she walks along the edge of the riverbed.  Her chest is heaving up and down and her forehead is drenched in sweat.  She reaches up and wipes it away with the sleeve of her sweater.  The exhilaration of being free is still present but she is too exhausted to run any further.  Her muscles ache from exertion and her feet are sore from scrambling over the uneven forest floor.  She sighs under her breath and pauses to bend down and dip her fingers into the cold water.  She brings it up to her face and lets it wash over her hot skin. 

“Enjoying yourself, are we?”

The voice seems to have come out of nowhere, disembodied almost.  The shock of it causes Arianna to freeze.  Every muscle, bone and breath halting simultaneously.  The sound of his breathy chuckle causes a chill to run down her spine.  _Move_ , she thinks, willing herself to do something, anything.

“It’s nice out here, I have to agree with you.  I’ve walked along this river hundreds of times.  But I think it’s time to head back to the house.  Maybe sit down and have a nice cup of tea,” he taunts, his voice drawing out the last word. 

Arianna blinks as she hears his feet crunch over the leaves, her breathing resuming in quiet pants.  She still can’t force herself to turn and look at him as he continues to close the distance between them.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

Suddenly, something in Arianna snaps and she jumps up and takes off running down the bank, feet splashing in the water and sending it spraying up the backs of her calves.  Harry chuckles and begins walking after her.  She glances over her shoulder and in her moment of distraction, her foot catches under a rock and she stumbles, falling onto her stomach and knocking the breath out of her lungs.

Harry picks up his pace, jogging to close the distance between them and then stopping to stand over her.  “See what happens?  You should have just listened to me and came back when I told you to,” he says, carefully placing his feet on either side of her hips. 

Arianna lies on the ground, gasping as air fills her lungs again.  Out of the corner of her eye, she spots a rope hanging from his hand and feels adrenaline shoot through her body again.  Her hand immediately reaches for the knife that she had strapped to her pants using a belt just as Harry’s hand comes into contact with her shoulder.  She rolls over onto her back and lifts the knife, pointing it at him.

His eyes widen slightly and he straightens up, backing away a few steps.  “Where did you get that?” he asks, holding up his hands.  The look on his face is holding back surprise and she finds herself having to bite back a smile at the sight of it. 

“I found it,” she answers, watching him slowly bite his bottom lip.  “You should really hide your weapons better, Harry.”

“I didn’t think I had to.  No one has ever given me a reason,” he says, his eyes locking on hers before they quickly dart away.

“Well, I’m not like the rest of them.  I told you I was stubborn,” Arianna spats, her voice rising slightly.

“I believe you,” Harry replies, his voice remaining calm and quiet.  He watches wordlessly as she pushes herself into a standing position, quickly regaining her balance and aiming the knife at him once more.

“Drop the rope,” she commands, her eyes flickering to his hand and then back up to his face again.

He glances down at his hand, fingers fidgeting against the tightly bound material.  He pauses to look at Arianna, her eyes hard but the rest of her body trembling.  A smirk finds its way onto his lips, dragging upwards until a dimple appears.

“Harry,” she says, her voice demanding.

Instead of dropping the rope, his grip tightens on it, pulling it up and looping it around his shoulder.  Arianna moves quickly, her feet propelling her towards him as she thrusts the knife at him.  He dodges her attack and grabs her around the wrist, snatching the knife with his other hand and casting it onto the ground a couple feet away.  Arianna gasps as he pins her body against his, wrapping one arm around her at the inside of her elbows and shimming the other one to allow the rope to fall into his free hand.

He brings the rope forward and expertly moves his other hand only at the wrist to tie and hold her at the same time.  Once the rope is looped and knotted around her left wrist, he yanks it behind her, allowing her to break away from him before he grabs her other arm in his hand.  He quickly binds them together, creating makeshift handcuffs.  He’s so concentrated, he barely even notices when she begins crying.  He pauses before tightening the rope to watch her body shake up and down with sobs. 

“Please, Harry.  Don’t do this.  Please,” she forces out in gasps as he pulls the rope taut.

“I’m sorry,” he replies, staring at her bound hands.

“How can you be sorry?” she bursts out, startling Harry and a flock of birds that were nesting in a tree ahead of them.

Her crying fills the air again and Harry bites down on his tongue, not able to find an answer for her question.  He grabs onto the middle of rope and begins to drag her along, trying as hard as he can to ignore the sobs that continue to slip through her lips.  He pauses where he threw the knife and bends down to retrieve it, turning it over and over in his hands before he casts it away again into the trees.

 

 

 **The walk back to the house** is silent and eventually, Arianna’s tears stop running.  The feeling of terror continues to pump through her veins.  She was so close to being free that she had started to believe she would never feel this way again.  Her eyes feel sore as they scan the forest in front of them.  While she was running through it, she failed to notice how amazing it felt to be outside again.  Now, she rushes to take in every detail.  The sun has finally appeared, cutting through the tall trees in front of them.  It casts a golden color on her pale skin and illuminates her grey eyes, causing them to appear so light that they are almost translucent. 

Harry glances at her out of the corner of his eye and she feels anger flare up in her again.  How did he even find her?  She thought that the woods would conceal her if he came searching but maybe she underestimated him.  A sick feeling enters her stomach as they step out of the woods and onto the driveway.  Gravel crunches beneath their feet as they walk between the vehicles and towards the house.

Arianna’s eyes immediately land on Simeon who is standing beside a knocked over trashcan with his hands in his pockets.  It’s hard to miss the apologetic expression on his face as they walk towards him.

“Look what happens, Simeon, when you don’t follow the rules!” Harry spats out, all of a sudden, ignoring Arianna’s terrified expression.  “She almost escapes and tells everyone about this place!  Then what would happen?  We’d all be in prison for the rest of our lives!”

“I’m sorry, Harry.  I thought I was doing her a favor,” Simeon says quietly, glancing at Arianna and then staring down at his boots.

“I’ll fucking kill you,” Harry mutters under his breath, dropping the rope and storming over to Simeon.

“Harry, no!” Arianna calls out, her voice choking as more tears spill down her rosy cheeks.

Before Harry can register her words, he quickly raises his fist and punches Simeon directly in the face.  The sound of flesh meeting flesh causes Arianna’s stomach to turn and she forces herself to look away.  Harry grabs hold of the collar of his shirt and throws a few more punches while Simeon does nothing to stop it.  Groans slip through his lips and he turns away as Harry’s fist connects with his jaw again and again.

Arianna swallows down the bile that was slowly rising in her throat and turns back to face them.  The blood running from Simeon’s nose and dripping onto the ground as he looks at her causes guilt to consume her.  This is her fault.  She should have never agreed to let him help her.  She should have known that the attempt to escape would be futile. 

Harry grabs Simeon by the top of his shirt and whispers something to him that Arianna can’t decipher.  Then he shoves him away, turning to Arianna as Simeon stumbles on the loose gravel, clutching his sore face in his hands.  Before she can collect herself, she is being pulled towards the house again.  She avoids Harry’s gaze as he glares at her all the way to the front door.  He grabs the handle and forces it open, letting it swing violently against the hinges before pulling it closed behind them.  He pulls the rope tauter and walks her briskly towards the bedroom.  Arianna can hear his heavy breathing increasing with every step they take.  Her eyes shoot to the basement door as they rush past.  Why isn’t he taking her there?  Shouldn’t he be angry enough to not want to talk to her for the rest of the day?

They reach the bedroom door quickly and he thrusts it open, revealing the room that Arianna had thought she would never see again.  Her eyes immediately fall to the mattress and she recalls the knife being cast into the trees by the river.  A gasp leaves her lips as Harry thrusts her forward into the room.  She turns to look at him but all she can see is the door slamming in her face. 

The room seems emptier than last time as her eyes scan over the bed and desk.  Her feet remain planted on the floor and she rubs her hands together behind her back, irritated that he didn’t remove the tightly bound rope.  He doesn’t want me to try and escape again, she thinks, turning to look at the door that remains unlocked.  She sighs and walks over to the bed, sitting down on the large mattress.  She pulls her legs up onto the bed and leans her head back on the headboard, wondering when or if Harry is going to return.

The sound of glass shattering causes her head to snap forward, eyes shooting to the doorway.  Someone’s voice follows, cursing, she expects but the words are muffled by the walls.  She doesn’t realize her heart is racing until she leans back and rests her head against the headboard.  Her lips feel dry as she runs her tongue over them and she remembers how much she was crying just a few minutes ago.  Her mind flashes back to Simeon, cut and bleeding from his nose.  How could Harry do that to his friend?  Hadn’t Simeon called him his friend?  Maybe she was just being delusional.

The sound of the door handle turning causes her head to snap to the side, eyes widening as she prepares for Harry’s entrance.  Instead, she is greeted by a shorter, slimmer man.  His dark brown hair is long and tucked carefully behind his ear on one side.  She recognizes him immediately from her first night here and from the basement when Xenia was brought in only hours ago.  Nitro.

“Water?” he offers, holding up a large glass in his hand.

Arianna eyes the glass, clearing her face of all emotion.  Where is Harry?

“I don’t bite,” he smiles, shutting the door behind him and approaching the bed.  He sits down at her feet and extends his arm, holding the glass out to her.

“My hands…” she begins, shifting uncomfortably.

“Oh, right.  I’ll take care of that,” he replies, setting the water down beside the empty glass on the bedside table.  He crawls over to her on the bed and points at her hands, twirling his finger.  “If you could just…” he says, chuckling as Arianna scoots away from the headboard and turns her back to him.

Her eyes focus on the door as he slowly works away at the knots, groaning and mumbling profanities under his breath.  She can immediately tell he doesn’t have as much experience as Harry or Simeon when it comes to things like this.  A thought enters her mind as he releases the first knot. 

“Are you supposed to be in here right now?” she asks, dropping her freed hand to the mattress.

“Harry asked me to, so…” he replies, untying the other knot quickly and letting the rope fall onto the mattress. “Yeah.  I am.”

He gathers the rope up and casts it onto the end of the bed before climbing off of it and returning to his original spot, perched at Arianna’s feet.  Arianna lifts her hands and examines the red idents that the rope left in her skin.  She lifts a finger and traces them while Nitro stares at her and sighs.  She clears her throat and grabs the glass of water, taking a long drink.

The sight of Nitro continuing to stare fills her with unease and she looks away again, setting down the drink in her lap.  “Where’s Harry?” she asks, lifting her hand and being greeted by the unfamiliar, short length of her hair.

“No idea.  He was pretty angry when I saw him though,” Nitro answers, lifting his eyebrows and whistling lowly.

“Yeah,” Arianna admits, biting her lip.  “Will he be coming back here or are you going to take me to the basement?”

“Oh, I don’t think he has any intention of letting you off the hook so easy,” he answers, chuckling.  Arianna snaps her head in his direction with a worried look on her face.  “Sorry!  I didn’t mean it like that.  Harry might be a little rough around the edges but deep down, he’s really not so bad.  I mean, sure, he’s made bad choices along the way but he’s not that different from me and you.”

“I beg to differ,” Arianna says under her breath, causing Nitro to laugh.

“I can see that.  Coming from someone that is on the wrong end of the stick.”

Arianna suppresses the sudden anger that rises in her at his words by taking another drink from her glass.  The wrong end of the stick.  There is no wrong end here.  The entire stick is broken and rotting away.  At this point, it might as well be nothing but kindling.  She finishes the rest of the water and sets it down on the bedside table, blowing air through her lips.

“So, what did you do before you were brought here?” Nitro asks, tucking his hair behind his ears.

Before Arianna has time to think of an angry response, Harry comes waltzing through the door.  “Nitro, out,” he orders, pointing behind him without even glancing in his direction.

Instead, his eyes fall onto Arianna.  She shifts uncomfortably in his gaze.  Nitro stands up from the bed and walks towards the door, leaving the empty glass behind.

“How are you feeling, darling, now that you’ve calmed down?” he asks, a small smile finding its way onto his lips before it falls away.

“I wouldn’t know, Harry.  I haven’t had the chance!” Arianna explodes, shooting up on the bed.  His expression falters at her outburst but he doesn’t shout back, instead he smirks and walks over to sit on the bed.

“You now, you really shouldn’t be the one that’s angry here,” he points out, turning to face her and raising his eyebrows.

“Of course, I should be!  You’ve given me countless reasons to be mad with you ever since we first met!  If anything, you shouldn’t be allowed to be mad at all!”

“Look, I didn’t come in here to fight with you so stop trying to make me angry.  It’s not going to work,” he says, sweeping his fingers through his hair and locking his eyes on hers.

She feels the anger rise even more at his calm response.  “I don’t care!  I don’t care if you get angry at me!  I don’t care if you don’t want me to be angry at you!  I can do and say what I want and you can’t stop me!” she yells, tears stinging in the corners of her eyes.

“Hey,” he says, reaching out and brushing her cheek with his thumb.  She recoils from his touch, holding out her hand to block his second advance.

“Don’t touch me, Harry,” she snaps, watching him lower his hand onto his lap.  “How many times do I have to tell you that?”

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, staring down at the floor.

His quiet words and the silence that follows them calms her slightly.  She folds her hands in her lap and sighs.  The fact that the silence between them is beginning to feel comfortable bothers her.  She doesn’t want to feel comfortable when she is with him.  She wants to feel angry and in charge.

She breaks the interlock of her fingers and runs them through her short hair again and again, straightening out the choppy ends the best she can.  She can feel Harry’s eyes locked on her but she doesn’t meet them.

“I can fix it,” he says, causing her to quicken the motions of her fingers.

“What?”

“Your hair.”

“No, thank you,” she exhales, dropping her hands and turning to face the wall beside the bed.

“So you’re just going to leave it like that?” he adds, a light chuckle mixing into his words.

Arianna rolls her eyes and finally turns to face him.  The playful look on his face makes her wish she would have kept her eyes on the wall.  Her heart increases its beating as her eyes slowly trace over his jade colored eyes and down to his curved up, pink lips, dotted with two deep dimples.

“I don’t think you would be able to do a better job,” she answers, pulling her eyes away from his face and glancing down at her hands which she had unknowingly clamped onto her knees.

“I don’t think you know what you’re talking about.”        

“I think I do,” she retorts, snapping up her eyes to look at him.

“Don’t,” he challenges, his lips curling into a gentle smile as a piece of his hair flops down onto his forehead.  He reaches up and pushes it back into place with his hand.

Arianna rolls her eyes again and purses her lips, leaning back with her hands on the mattress.  She doesn’t want to argue pointlessly with him, she wants to fight with him.  She wants him to make her so angry that she wants to scream at the top of her lungs and shove him in the chest.  Instead, he’s stuck in this playful mood, making her the only angry one in the room. 

“So what do you say?” he asks, leaning forward into her line of vision.

“No, Harry!” she exclaims, shooting up from the bed and causing him to recoil on the mattress.

“Why not?” he asks, smiling so that his teeth show.  He watches her become frustrated at his mischievous expression.

“I said no,” she demands, frowning at him.

“Just give me one reason.”

He watches as her eyes dart around the room, eyebrows lowering as she thinks.  He can feel his smile growing as she sighs, her shoulders slumping in defeat.  “Fine,” she breathes out, sitting back down on the bed beside him.

Harry chuckles and rolls the sleeves of his beige sweater up to his elbows before standing up from the bed.  He walks over to the bedside table and opens the drawer with the pencils and pens inside.  Arianna watches him curiously as he lifts his hand and feels around the underside of the wood.  She sits up higher on the bed, placing her feet beneath her thighs and notices him stick his hand inside a small pouch, pulling out a pair of small scissors.

Arianna’s eyes widen at the sight and she immediately thinks about her search for a weapon in this room.  How many weapons does he have in here?  What about in the entire house?  The thought both excites and terrifies her at the same time.

He walks towards the bed with the scissors curled in his long fingers.  “Looks like I won’t be hiding these in there anymore,” he says, laughing while he looks at her.

She bites her lip and glances down at the floor, feeling a numbed sense of anger flow through her.  How many more weapons might be hidden in here that she doesn’t know about?  What if she could find another one?  Her thoughts are cut short by the feeling of Harry approaching her from the other side of the bed.  His knees cause the mattress to sink down as he crawls over and sits down on his ankles.  He pauses to lay down a clean pillowcase that he grabbed from the dresser before lifting his hands up.  Arianna exhales as his fingers run through her hair and he chuckles under his breath.  She shuts her mouth quickly, afraid he might have heard her.

“Did Simeon do this?” he asks, continuing to let tiny laughs roll off his tongue.

Memories of Harry’s fists repeatedly sinking into Simeon’s skin flash in front of her eyes.  “Yes,” she breathes, feeling her heart pick up its pace.

“It looks like I might have to teach him a few new tricks,” he says, beginning to trim the ends of her hair.

“Is he okay?” Arianna asks before she can stop herself.

“He’s fine.  Nothing he hasn’t had to endure before.”

“You’ve hit him before?” she asks, her eyebrows pulling down in concern. 

He continues to cut her hair, moving carefully with his hand.  She silently awaits for his answer.  “No,” he replies, ruffling her hair with his hand. 

His answer surprises her.  She was expecting him to tell her it was a normal occurrence.  “Then who?”

“Why all of these questions?”

“I’m just trying to make conversation so I can keep myself from wanting to tear your head off,” she answers, smiling slightly when he laughs in response.

“How about we change the subject then?”

“Why?  Is it private or-”

“Change the subject,” he interjects, snipping the scissors loudly and watching pieces of hair flutter down and land on the pillowcase.

Arianna sighs and lays her hands down on her lap, twiddling her thumbs together.  A short silence engulfs them and Arianna finds herself staring at the door and wondering once again why he never locks it.  Harry clears his throat and pulls her back into the present moment.

“How did you learn to cut hair?” Arianna asks timidly, afraid he might shut her down again.

“My mother taught me.”

“She would be ashamed of you now,” Arianna replies, quickly biting down on her lip to silence herself.  Once again, her words have gotten away from her.

“I think she would be just the opposite,” Harry states, dropping the scissors onto the bed behind him.  “Turn around.”

Arianna slowly stands and faces him, her expression incredulous.  “You think she would be proud of you?”

Harry sighs and folds up the hair messily into the pillowcase before bunching it up in his hand.  “No.  I think she wouldn’t be bothered to even care about it,” he answers, walking past her and towards the door.

“Where are your parents now?”

The question makes him pause, his shoulders tensing as he turns his head to look at her.  “I inherited this house from them along with their fortune.  That’s all that matters and all you need to know about them.”

Arianna tries to think of a response to his statement as he begins walking towards the door again.  “Wait!  Aren’t you going to take me back downstairs?”

“No.  Just sleep in here tonight,” he says, placing his hand on the doorknob.

“You trust me not to run away again?”

“It’s funny, sometimes a little bit of trust is in a person is all you need to earn a little trust back,” he answers, turning to look at her before he opens the door.  Arianna catches a smile on his face before he disappears behind the door, leaving her alone.


	16. 15.

The sound of Harry’s footsteps retreating down the hallway echo in Arianna’s ears as she stands on the other side of the door, completely perplexed.  He can’t be serious, can he?  Only hours ago, she tried to run away from him and now he is giving her complete freedom.  She shakes her head from side to side slowly, her eyes falling to look at the floor.  Maybe she doesn’t understand him as much as she likes to think she does.  After all, hadn’t Elaina warned her that he was bipolar?

She turns around and her eyes search the room, landing on the small mirror that is hanging above the dresser.  She slowly walks towards it, the soles of her shoes padding quietly against the floor.  She can see her reflection staring back at her as she approaches it and her hands immediately climb into her hair, raking through the short strands.  She examines the cut hair, biting her lip as her fingers continue to brush through it.  The ends rest just at her shoulders, straight and soft.  The length of it pulls more attention to her face, accentuating her full, pink lips and bewildering, wide, grey eyes.  She hasn’t had it cut this short since she was a little girl.

She blinks and turns away from her reflection, facing towards the bed instead.  Her lips fall open slightly at the sight of the scissors still lying on the blanket.  Did he intend to leave them here or just forget to take them with him?  She assumes it was the latter since she made him irritated and leave as quickly as possible. 

She lifts her leg and crawls onto the bed, tucking her hair behind her ears as she perches herself on her ankles.  Her toes curl into the mattress, body swaying slightly from left to right as she makes herself comfortable.  She reaches out her hand and wraps her fingers around the metal blades of the scissors.  She pulls them into her lap, resting them against the thin material of her black jeans. 

Thoughts of escaping cross her mind but are quickly muted when she thinks about what Harry had said to her about trust.  She doesn’t trust him, how could she?  He is her captor and she is his prisoner.  He can do whatever he pleases and she can’t do anything without threatening her life.  She sighs and places the scissors onto the bedside table.  As much as Harry has tried to be lenient with her, she’ll never forget the time that he threatened to kill her.  The way his face had hardened and his lips spat the words haunt her to this very moment.  It makes it difficult when he acts the way he did just a few minutes ago, playful and soft.  She doesn’t understand why he changes his mood so quickly or how.

She sighs and climbs further into the bed.  The mattress is more comfortable than the one in the basement and she looks forward to slipping under the sheets.  A sudden thought hits her as she pulls the comforter back.  Where is Harry going to sleep?  She quickly dismisses the thought, blaming it on her assumption that this was his room.  It’s probably just the room he uses for her and the other girls.  The idea settles uncomfortably on her stomach.  She had briefly forgotten that Harry brings them up here, too.  She feels jealousy fill her, causing her skin to burn and breathing to increase.  The sensation is so foreign when it comes to Harry that she surprises herself.  Why would she be jealous over the other girls in here, some of them her friends? 

The question continues to spin around her head until she pushes it down, silencing it.  She isn’t going to do this.  He isn’t going to make her go crazy.  She crawls towards the headboard and tucks her legs beneath the blanket, pulling it over her.  Her head rests against the pillow and she sighs.  The lights push in on the corners of her eyes but she refuses to get up and turn them off.  She is terrified that someone will come in during the night and she won’t be able to defend herself. 

It doesn’t take long for her eyes to begin feeling heavy and before she realizes what’s happening, they are closing.  She rolls over and curls her knees into her chest, falling asleep to thoughts of green eyes and freedom.

 

 

 **When she wakes,** her eyes trail lazily over the bed and over to the curtains that are still pulled shut.  She blinks a few times and sits up on the bed, yawning silently into her hand.  Her mind works slowly as she takes in the bedroom in the early morning light.  She can hear the light pattering of rain against the window and sighs, pushing the blankets off of her.  Her bare feet touch the floor and she pauses to stare at the light on the ceiling which is turned off.  She feels goosebumps rise on her skin as she thinks about someone walking in here while she was sleeping to turn it off.  Deep down, as much as it doesn’t make her feel much better, she hopes it was Harry and not Nitro.

She slides her fingers through her hair, pushing it out of her face.  She can already tell that it is unruly without even having to look at it.  She reaches down and pulls the small elastic band that she always keeps wrapped around her wrist off.  She stands and walks over to the mirror, glancing at her reflection.  Her eyes look brighter than she expected and her hair isn’t as bad as she had thought.  Still, she lifts her arms and collects it up into a small ponytail.  She tightens it and drops her hands.  As she walks back over to the bed, a few strands fall loose around her face and she tucks them behind her ears.

She sits down on the edge of the mattress and stares at the door, wondering when Harry will come in and take her back downstairs.  She bites her lip and picks a loose thread on her baggy, straight legged jeans.  What if he doesn’t come soon?  Can she go looking for him?  Something tells her that this isn’t the best idea but she doesn’t let it go. 

She pushes herself off of the bed and kicks her shoes on before walking towards the door.  Unsurprisingly, she finds it unlocked and she quickly opens it and peeks out into the hallway.  There isn’t a single person in sight.  She barely notices that her heartbeat increases as she walks to her right.  The soft material of her shoes muffles her steps as she moves forward, eyes constantly scanning the doors and staircase ahead of her.

She hears footsteps above her and looks up, freezing in her tracks.  Her breathing is the only sound she can hear until a stereo starts playing quiet music.  She remains standing there for a few more seconds until she is positive that whoever it was isn’t coming downstairs.  She secretly hopes it isn’t Simeon.  She doesn’t want him to find her in terror that she might get him into even more trouble.

Her feet begin to move again as she approaches the first door.  Her hand grabs onto the handle, turning it and sighing when it doesn’t open.  She resumes with the next few doors, beginning to feel frustrated when they are also locked.  She reaches the next door and grabs the handle, turning it quickly and stumbling when the door opens in front of her.  She looks up and her eyes scan the dark, cluttered room.  Once she determines that there is no one inside, she steps over the threshold and closes the door behind her, leaving it open just a crack. 

There is a small lamp turned on across the room, sitting on top of a wooden work bench.  She walks towards it, her eyes starting to take in the large art studio.  There are scattered paint bottles and brushes on top of the wide work benches that are laid out in a rectangle, leaving a space to walk into the middle.  Several paintings and drawings are hanging from a string that wraps around the room twice, some of them still unfinished.  She pauses and stares at the drawing of a beautiful woman staring at her own reflection in a pane of glass, her delicate fingers reaching up to touch her lips on the glass.  The lines on the picture are so fine and intricate that it takes Arianna’s breath away.  The entire picture appears so realistic it could be a photograph.  The thought that this could be Harry’s makes her even more taken aback.

She walks over to the bench and runs her hand along the rich, mahogany wood as she looks at the assortment of dark and light colored pencils that are scattered across the surface.  A thick, empty glass is sitting among them, with the remains of the liquor still dried along the bottom of it.  As Arianna continues to walk, she kicks the empty bottle by accident, causing it to roll across the floor.  She stoops and picks it up, reading the name and recognizing the expensive scotch from the same bottle in her father’s liquor cupboard.

She places the bottle on the edge of the worktop and looks at the next table.  The piece of paper on it appears blank until she reaches it and the light from the lamp illuminates it.  Small lines cover the paper, outlining a drawing of a mother with a child lying across her chest sleeping.  Arianna’s eyes travel above it and she notices an ash tray with a burnt out cigarette leaning against the edge of it.  For the first time in days, she feels the craving to smoke filling her body.  Her eyes frantically search for more cigarettes but the used one appears to be the only one.  She sighs and closes her eyes, leaning with her hands on the back of the chair in front of her.

“What are you doing in here?  Get the fuck out!”

She had been so overcome by the desire to hold a cigarette in her hand again that she hadn’t even heard him come in.  She spins around and is immediately caught in his angry demeanour.  He storms across the room towards her and she snaps back into reality.

“Harry-” she begins, breathing out sharply when his hands grasp onto her upper arm and he begins dragging her towards the door.  His grip is tight and his eyes never look in her direction as they walk.  “I didn’t mean to intrude.”

“You didn’t have to,” he forces through his clenched teeth, slamming the door shut behind them when they enter the hallway once more.

“You have nothing to be ashamed of.  You’re drawings are beautiful,” she compliments, trying to grab a hold of his gaze as they reach the top of the basement stairs.

He ignores her words and scrambles for his keys, struggling it find the correct one in his anger.  Arianna remains silent as he searches, her eyes focusing on the door handle.  When he finds the key, he jams in into the lock and turns it, pushing the door open.  Arianna’s eyes immediately lock on the girl from the first cell’s blue ones.  Harry yanks her quickly towards her cell, his breaths coming out louder and louder with every step they take.

He flips the keys to the one for her cell and sticks it in, the sound of metal clanking as he opens the door and moves her towards it.  She glances over her shoulder but walks in obediently, trying hard to avoid looking back at him as he closes it.  She hears the lock click and the sound of his footsteps as he quickly retreats to the door.  She turns around just as his footsteps change direction and he rushes back towards her.

He pauses in front of the cell, his eyes dark and his jaw taut.  “I never want you in there again.  You understand?”

“Yes,” Arianna whispers, stunned as he turns and begins walking towards the door again.  “But, Harry-” her voice trails off when she realizes he’s ignoring her.

She blinks her eyes shut when he slams the door, causing the sound to ring off of the walls.  When the sound ceases, she exhales loudly and opens her eyes again.  She has so many questions she still wants to ask him, not all of them are even about the art studio. 

Regardless of her feelings towards her cell, she feels somewhat glad to be back for now.  Her toes curl against the cold floor as she remains standing there, eyes landing on her unmade bed and the half empty water bottle on her bedside table. 

She walks towards her bed and stops when her hand brushes against the mattress.  She glances at the water bottle out of the corner of her eye and she feels her breathing pause.  Her hand reaches down and wraps around the thin plastic, hearing it crackle under her tightening grip.  She quickly turns on her heel and storms towards the front of the cell, groaning as she sends the bottle flying into the opposite wall through the bars.  The force from her sudden angry outburst causes it to crack and the remaining water to spill all over the floor. 

Her breathing resumes, coming through her lips in loud, short puffs.  She runs her hands through her hair and walks briskly to her bed, throwing herself down on the mattress.  The springs squeak and the mattress shakes as she lays her head down, slowly raking her fingers through her hair, pulling the ponytail out and casting it across the room.

“Where have you been?”

Elaina’s voice is familiar and for some reason, she finds herself having to hold back tears at the sound of it.  She purses her lips and pushes herself upright, turning to the window with the bars and gripping onto the wooden edge.

“You don’t even want to know,” Arianna replies, blinking and looking down to hide the tears that are still clutching onto her upper eyelashes.

Elaina sighs and gives Arianna a sympathetic smile.  “I told you this would happen.  He likes to play games with us.  It’s fun for him.  I just don’t think he gets that it isn’t fun for us.”

“It’s not that.  Elaina, I made a mistake.  A lot of mistakes.  More mistakes than I thought was possible to make in a day.  I think he hates me.”

“Isn’t that what you wanted?”

The question makes her bite down on her bottom lip.  “I thought it was,” she says quietly, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Be careful.  You know he doesn’t want us for that reason.  We’re just play things for him.”

“I almost escaped yesterday,” Arianna announces, ignoring Elaina’s words.  She wants to change the subject but doesn’t want to bring up the art studio.  She wants to keep that just between Harry and her.

“What?” Elaina gasps, her eyes widening.  “H-how?  What?”

“Simeon helped me out.  I found a knife in the bedroom upstairs and was going to fight my way out but he got to me first.  I got all the way to the river before Harry caught me.  That’s why my hair is short now.  Simeon cut it to disguise me, I didn’t get far enough for it to work though.”

“Arianna, that’s crazy!  No has done that since Valerie-” she trails off, rethinking what she was about to say.  “I thought you were sleeping with him!  That’s why I thought you didn’t come back last night!  Holy shit, Arianna!”

“No.  I didn’t do anything with him.  He let me sleep in the bedroom and then we fought and he brought me back down here,” Arianna adds, pressing her lips into a tight line.

“He let you sleep upstairs?” Elaina asks, her jaw dropping.

“Yeah.  Doesn’t he let you?”

“Never.  He never lets anyone.”

Arianna’s eyes search Elaina’s face as she thinks about what she said.  He never lets anyone sleep upstairs.  Why did he let her then?  A strange feeling sweeps through her and she falls back onto her heels on the mattress, placing her face in her hands.

“Are you okay, Arianna?” Elaina asks, her voice disembodied as Arianna’s head fills with jumbled thoughts from yesterday and last night.

“Yeah,” she forces out, lowering her hands.  “I think I’m going to take a quick shower.”

“Alright.  I’ll be here when you’re ready to talk again.  It’s not like I have anywhere else to go,” she says as Arianna stands up and walks quickly towards the dresser.  She falls onto her knees and pulls the drawers open, grabbing the first clothes she sees and heading off to the bathroom.


	17. 16.

Arianna stands under the scalding hot water as it runs over her skin.  She barely notices the burning feeling that’s spreading over her body as she stares at the door, her heart thumping in her ears.  She lifts her hands and watches the streams of water shoot off of her fingertips, splattering loudly onto the tiles beneath her feet.  Her head begins throbbing again as she thinks about Harry and how agitating he can be.

Just the way he speaks to her makes her feel like she’s going crazy.  He can flip a conversation from normal to maddening in the space of one word.  The way he changes the mood along with his words also bothers her.  One second, they can be arguing and the next, he is kissing her.  She clenches her teeth at the thought of his lips on hers.  Countless times she has told him to not touch her, to stay away from her even, yet he never listens.  He says that she can have anything she wants but his words couldn’t be farther from the truth.

She turns around and allows the stream of water to run into her face, pattering violently against her closed eyelids and running off of her chin.  And why does he treat her differently than the other girls?  That part bothers her the most.  Is it because she always tries to pick a fight with him?  If that was the reason, it wouldn’t make much sense.  It would make more sense if he were to treat her worse than the other girls.  But the problem is that he never does anything that would make sense.

She grabs for the bottle of shampoo and pops the lid open, squirting an excessive amount into her hand.  She massages it into her hair, scratching her fingertips into her scalp.  She leans her head back and sighs as it rinses from her hair and down her back.  Another problem enters her mind just as she turns the water off.  Why did Elaina change the subject when she brought up that Arianna wasn’t the first girl to try escaping?  Why was it an accident that she said it?  What does she not want her to know?

For the first time since she got here, she feels anger towards Elaina.  From the moment she first met her, she has considered her an ally in this situation.  Why is she trying to keep something from her?  She should be able to tell her anything.  Why is she keeping secrets for Harry?

Arianna stops as she is in the process of toweling herself dry and stares at herself in the mirror.  She is also keeping a secret for Harry.  When Elaina asked where she had been, she had purposely left out the part about Harry’s art studio.  Why?  Was it to protect him?  She isn’t quite sure about the answer. 

She hangs the damp towel on the back of the door and walks over to her clean clothes that are sitting on the edge of the sink.  She picks up the dark purple, lacy bra and pulls it up her arms, clasping it at the back.  She glances down at the pile of clothes and bites her lip at the sight of the bright red panties.  She picks them up and turns them in her hand, examining the extremely thin, lacy material.  She groans quietly and lifts her legs, stepping into the gaudy underwear.  She glances in the mirror again and sucks in her breath.  Her body is already thinner, muscles smaller and less prominent.  All of the years spent training and practicing for gymnastics have given her a toned abdomen and legs but even they are starting to diminish. 

She pulls her gaze away from her reflection and back down to her clothes.  The grey sweater and light blue jeans are sitting alone on the white surface of the sink.  She quickly slips them on, rolling up the bottoms of the jeans that are too long even for her lengthy legs.  The sweater falls down on one shoulder, exposing the strap of her purple bra.  She sighs and hopes no one will have to see her in it.

She shakes her fingers through her wet hair and leans in, brushing a layer of foundation over the light freckles that are sprinkled over her red tinged cheeks.  After brushing her teeth, she tosses her dirty clothing in the small hamper next to the door and walks back out into her cell.  She makes her way to her small fridge and grabs a water bottle and apple, despite her uneasy stomach.  She hasn’t eaten anything in a while.  She pauses in front of the window that is still open and glances into Xenia’s cell. 

“Xenia?” she says, stepping closer to the window.

 After a few seconds of silence she repeats her name, again with no answer.  Arianna blows air through her lips and turns around, assuming she is sleeping. 

She walks back over to her bed and opens the bottle, drinking half of it before setting it on the edge of her bedside table.  She lifts the apple to her lips and bites down, ignoring the nauseous feeling that pushes to the front of her brain.  Her eyes fall onto the spilled water bottle on the floor outside of her cell as she chews and she suddenly finds it hard to swallow.  She struggles to pull her eyes away, feeling the relief from her shower slipping away quickly.  Harry’s presence is pressing down on her even though he isn’t even in the room.  She looks down at the floor and swallows hard before forcing herself to take a few more bites of the apple.

After a few minutes, the apple is nearly gone but she can’t take another bite without becoming sick and defeating all of her progress.  She sets it down on the bedside table next to the water bottle and she sits back on the bed.  She can hear Elaina bouncing something against the wall but chooses to ignore her, still feeling a sting of anger in the back of her mind.  She pulls her knees up to her chest and lays down on her side on top of the blankets.  Her eyes flutter open and closed a few times and she feels her mind beginning to relax again. 

After a few minutes of silence, a strange feeling sweeps through her.  At first she thinks it might be the nausea but it doesn’t take her long to distinguish the familiar feeling when her hand begins to tremble against the bed.  Her eyes watch it shake gently and she clenches her fist, steadying it.  The longing is faint but she still finds it strange that she hasn’t noticed the absence of her craving until today. 

She closes her eyes again and continues clenching her fist until the sensation is gone.  Her breathing slows and without intending to, she drifts off into a deep sleep.

**The feeling of her body being shaken pulls her from her sleep,** causing her to abruptly sit up on the bed.  Her eyes dart around the small room, eyebrows pulling down into a frown when they focus on Simeon’s face.

“What are you doing here?” she asks, her voice still thick with sleep.

She looks over her shoulder and notices how the door to her cell is wide open.  She is glad when she sees that Harry isn’t accompanying him.

“He wants to see you,” Simeon answers after a moment of silence.

The bruises and cuts are visible on his dark skin even in the dim light.  The sight causes Arianna’s stomach to turn again.  She barely even comprehends what he had just told her.  He stands up straight and Arianna finds herself copying him, pushing herself to her feet even though her head spins in protest.  She follows closely on his heels as he walks out of the cell and towards the basement door.

Despite her current feelings towards Elaina, she finds herself turning to glance into her cell.  The look on her face is one of warning.  Arianna nods quickly at her and continues to walk towards the door.  With every step she takes, the feeling of guilt for what happened to Simeon consumes her more and more.  She watches his back slightly slump as he walks up the stairs after locking the door.  She can tell that he’s in pain but knows that he is too resilient to admit it.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers to him when the reach the top of the stairs.  She has caught up to him and is walking beside him down the long hallway. 

“Don’t apologize.  Trust me,” he replies, stopping in front of the bedroom door. 

He nods down at her and opens the door, allowing light to pour into the dark hallway.  Arianna’s eyes don’t break from his face as she walks through the door.  He gives her a small smile, causing the marks on his face to stretch and compress.  The sight causes her to turn away and to the floor as the door closes quietly behind her.

She feels the damp breeze hit her before she looks up, eyes locking on the opened windows on the far wall.  The heavy rain is blowing through the screen and creating a small puddle on the floor below it.  Arianna tears her eyes away from the water when he speaks, his voice is barely audible.  His appearance is sad, unlike the anger she was once again expecting.  His green eyes are crestfallen, staring into hers as if he expects her to fix him.  His large hands are folded on his lap and the pair of forgotten scissors are sitting next to him on the mattress. 

“Did you hear me?” he asks, his lips moving slowly to form the words.

“No,” she answers quickly, her legs wanting to move but her mind willing her to stay in place.

“I asked if you wanted to sit down,” he repeats, unclasping his hands to place one on the bed next to him.  

Her eyes fall down to look at it and she feels a sudden surge of confidence run through her.  She nods her head and moves towards him.  He lifts his hand and runs it through his hair, shaking the dark curls back on his forehead before placing it back on his lap.

Arianna sits down next to him, keeping a larger space between them than she normally does.  He notices this and the sad look on his face disappears for a moment as he gives her a small smile.  She tries to return it but she suddenly feels the anger from before resurfacing.  Her eyes turn to the floor and she bites her lip, feeling his intense stare on her.

“Are you angry with me?”

“No,” she lies, her voice cracking slightly.

Harry sighs and adjusts his position on the bed, turning to face her and crossing his ankles on the floor.  “Why are you angry with me?” he asks, leaning forward so that she is forced to look at him.

“You know why, Harry,” she retorts, snapping her stormy grey eyes up to meet his calm green ones.  The sight causes her expression to soften and she doesn’t look away this time.

“Because I caught you in my studio?”

She rolls her eyes and scoffs at him.  “Partly, but that’s not what I mean.”

“Then what?”

“Are you serious?” she asks, raising her eyebrows.

“Yeah.”

“Oh my god,” she mutters, bringing her fist up to meet her forehead and resting it there.  “Why are you like this, Harry?”

“Like what?”

“Unpleasant to be around.  I can’t even have a conversation with you without you saying something like that to make me annoyed.  And you always confuse me.  Everything about you is so baffling.  I don’t even know who you are.  You abducted me and all these other girls to pleasure yourself.  That’s all I know.  And that you seem to have some sort of fucked up soft spot for me,” she says, her heart beginning to pick up its pace at the uncertainty of his response to her revelation.  “Why are you like that?”

“I can’t answer that question,” he responds, his mouth setting in a straight line.

Instead of asking why he can’t answer, she debates the reasons in her head.  She can feel his eyes fixated on her face but ignores it as her mind spins.  There are so many possibilities that she can’t decide on one without his input.

“Did someone hurt you?” she finally asks, searching his eyes for any sign of anger at her intruding question.  He shakes his head in reply, nothing but the sound of rain being exchanged between them.

“Was it because of your parents?”  He raises an eyebrow at her before shaking his head again.

“Is it because you’re not capable of feeling any emotions?” she asks, jokingly.

She watches as his face transforms from deadpan to playful.  A laugh slips through his lips and he looks down at the floor.

“Harry?”

“Happiness is an emotion,” he states, laughing again.

“You’re never even happy,” she points out, giggling.

“I am right now.”

The words send them into silence.  Arianna bites down on her tongue and glances down at her hands.  The cool breeze from the window hits the back of her neck, causing goosebumps to shoot up her arms.  Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Harry’s eyes sweeping over her.  She feels the familiar magnetism starting between them and finds herself clearing her throat to break it.

“Are you afraid of getting hurt?” she asks quietly, her eyes flickering up to lock on his.

Another sweep of silence settles down around them when Harry doesn’t answer.  Arianna watches his eyes fall and she glances down at his hand which reaches out for hers.  Normally, she would tell him to back off but this is the first time he’s ever opened up to her and she doesn’t want him to close up again.  His hand is warm against her cool skin and she finds herself holding her breath as his fingers twist against hers, pulling them together and breaking them apart.  He continues to play with her hands, a smile growing on his lips.  When he catches her watching him, the smile falls and he clears his throat.

“I’ve never given anyone the opportunity,” he answers, running his fingertips along her knuckles.

“Why not?”

“I don’t know.  It’s just the way things have always been,” he says, shrugging slightly and interlocking their fingers together on the mattress. 

Arianna squeezes his hand and forces him to look into her eyes.  “Things can change,” she whispers, not exactly sure why she is trying to convince him of something that will never happen.

“Not when it’s too late,” he replies, his voice quiet as he loosens his grip on her hand slightly.

Before he can pull away, she lifts her free hand and grabs onto his arm, just below the elbow.  Her fingers press into his hot skin as he scrambles to realize what is happening.  “Who ever said it was too late?” she whispers insistently, her forehead crinkling with worry.

His lips pop open as he stares at her, green eyes flickering with exposure and slight disbelief.  She ignores the faint voice in the back of her mind advising her to stop what she is doing and look away from his alluring eyes.  Everything in that moment is about him and only him, not a single part of her is anywhere else.  She slides closer to him on the mattress, immediately becoming trapped in his overwhelming presence.  Her hand slides higher up his arm and his automatically raise and latch onto her back, fingers pressing into her shoulders.

A quiet gasp slips through her lips, triggering a small smirk to appear on his.  In her moment of bravery, her words come easily, slipping smoothly through her lips without a single stutter or pause.  “Maybe I can be your second chance.”

His response is silent, not a single word leaving his mouth.  He leans forward and presses his lips against hers, moaning slightly as she gradually begins to moves her lips against his.  Her lips feel cool and soft, molding against his tightly as she places her hands on his shoulders.  He slides his hands down to her lower back and pulls her onto his lap, leaving only a few centimeters between their bodies. 

The heat between them increases and she feels goosebumps rise on her arms, unsure if they are caused by the damp air or the way Harry’s soft lips feel against hers.  It’s the first time she’s actually kissed him, feeling his lips moving against hers in a needy way.  She sighs into his mouth as his fingers reach up and rake through her hair, pulling her closer so that their chests are pressed together.  She can feel her pulse racing beneath her skin and her quickened breathing becomes swallowed up by the sound of their lips meeting and parting.

Deep down, she doesn’t know how true her words to him were but she’s so caught up in him that she can’t stop to tell him so.  His one hand remains in her hair as his other one falls down to her bare shoulder, pushing the material of her sweater down further.  His fingers trace over the hot skin, causing her heart to beat faster than she thought was possible. 

His lips leave hers and he places his head above her shoulder, kissing the exposed skin.  His lips feel so soft that she can’t suppress the moan that bursts through her lips.  Her hand reaches into his hair, grasping onto the short curls as he begins sucking on her skin.  Her other one falls onto his upper thigh where it rests, grabbing firmly onto the area.  It’s almost as if she pressed a wrong button, the speed in which he breaks away from her.

Her eyes widen, searching his as he moves backwards on the bed, distancing himself from her.  Short breaths fall from his swollen, pink lips and his unruly hair falls onto his forehead, making him look even more appealing.  However, the defensive glaze that has overtaken his eyes flips the mood.  He pulls his gaze away from her and grabs his lips with his fingers, pinching the bottom one together as he thinks.  Arianna wants to say something but she is afraid that if she speaks he will get up and leave.  Just as the worry enters her mind, he does just that.

Panic rips through her at the thought of him leaving her like this after such an intimate exchange.  “Harry!” she calls out, causing him to stop and turn.  She’s surprised by this and takes a moment to collect her words into the right ones.  “Why are you treating me so differently from the other girls?  Why won’t you have your way with me?”

She watches as a smirk overtakes his lips, his eyes gleaming with mischief once again.  “I’m saving the best for last,” he answers, turning and opening the door before he walks out without another look back. 

Arianna leans back on the bed, her stomach being jerked into a continuous round of backflips.  She bites down on her lip and feels herself having to hold back a smile.  She isn’t sure what has happened in the last hour that has changed her feelings towards him so suddenly.  But she does know that the feeling he brings her is a good kind of insanity.  One that she finds herself wanting more and more of.


	18. 17.

“It seems that you’re enjoying sleeping in my bed?”

His chuckling face is the first thing she sees when her eyes flutter open, rushing to adjust to the bright daylight.  Harry is sitting a foot away from her on the bed, a joking smile on his face as he looks down at her.  His hair is still damp from the shower he just took and the mild scent of his cologne is floating through the air between them. 

Arianna lifts herself up and leans on her elbow, watching him carefully.  “Why are you in here?” she asks, reaching up to sweep her hair behind her ear. 

“I wanted to make sure you were still here and not wandering around the house again,” he answers, his face becoming solemn.

“Oh,” she says, biting down on her bottom lip.  Her eyes fall to the blankets that are pooled around her.

The air coming through the wide open windows behind her is warm.  All of the traces from the rain the night before have vanished.  The sun shines through the screen, warming her back and making Harry’s skin appear to be glowing.  His eyes trail over her body and land on her face, watching her lips clamp together as she stares down at the mattress.  He glances over his shoulder at the mug sitting on the bedside table before reaching for it. 

He brings it up to his lips and takes a long drink of the coffee before setting it back down on the table.  The uncomfortable feeling in the air increases as he crosses his arms and looks up at a small cobweb in the far corner.  Although they should have discussed Arianna finding the art studio last night, they never did.  Now, too much time has passed and bringing it up will feel too forced.

Arianna clears her throat and sits up on the bed, pushing the blankets off of her.  Harry’s eyes follow her as she stands, her muscular back stretching in front of his face as she raises her arms above her head.  The light from the sun illuminates her body, outlining the shallow curve of her waist.  Harry feels his tongue break through his lips and slide over them, leaving them glistening slightly. 

“How are you feeling today?” Arianna asks, turning around and catching him staring at her.  He notices how her face turns a rosy color as she bends down to make the bed.

“You mean after that steamy make out session last night?” he says, a smirk overtaking his lips.  The timid look on her face causing him to burst out laughing.  “I’m fine.”

Arianna’s embarrassment clouds the room and he watches her finish making the bed before standing straight up and pulling her sweater back down from where it had bunched up.  Her innocence intrigues him and he laughs lightly before reaching out and grabbing onto her wrist.  He pulls her towards him so that she climbs onto the mattress and sits down across from him.  “How about you?  Did you enjoy being in my company?” he asks, one side of his mouth pulling upwards.

“Well, you were actually tolerable to be around for once, so I guess I can’t complain,” she answers, giggling.

Harry smiles and squeezes her wrist before dropping it.  Arianna glances down at it lying limply on the bed before she pulls it onto her lap.  “Not many people complain after kissing me,” he boasts, a smug look consuming his face.

“Harry!” Arianna scolds, reaching out and slapping his arm.  He chuckles and pulls away from her, sticking out his tongue playfully.

“Is this you complaining?” he asks, raising his eyebrows.

“No,” she says, an unintentional smile spreading on her lips.

“I thought so.”

“Are you always this annoying so early in the morning?”

“No,” he answers, pausing while running his fingers through his hair.  “I’m usually past annoying and I’m completely insufferable.”

She laughs as a smile breaks out on his face.  His dimples indent his cheeks and tiny laugh lines pop up all over his face.  She likes to see him like this.  He’s easier to appreciate when he isn’t scowling all the time. 

“Do you want to go downstairs now?”

“Why?” she asks, surprise crossing her features.

“Eager?” he chuckles, raising his eyebrows.

“No,” she replies, shaking her head.  “We were having such a nice time and I don’t want it to end so fast.  For all I know, the next time I see you, you could be back to your old self.”

“Don’t worry about that, darling,” he says, sighing as he pushes himself off of the bed.  “I haven’t completely left my old self behind me quite yet.”

Arianna’s eyes lock on him as he walks towards the door.  What does he mean by that?  It seems like he changed in the past couple hours.  Almost like he became a more tolerable person.  She doesn’t know why she’s stopped thinking of him like the psychopath he is.

“Are you coming or staying?” he asks, pausing with his hand a few inches from the door.

“Coming,” she answers, standing from the bed and walking over to meet him.

He watches her carefully, his eyes examining her face as she moves towards him.  “Hold on,” he says, approaching her and lifting her chin up with his knuckles.  Arianna freezes under his touch, her heart automatically pattering faster.  “You have freckles.”

Arianna feels her cheeks heat up and steps away from him, letting his hand fall back to his side.  “Are you are embarrassed?” he asks, following her as she walks past him towards the door.

“They aren’t my favorite feature,” she whispers, turning to look at him over her shoulder.

“I think they’re cute,” he admits, causing Arianna’s stomach to twirl. 

She turns back to the door and places her hand on the knob, twisting the cold metal with her fingers.  For some reason, she finds it hard to believe that Harry would find anything cute.

Her mind races as she steps into the hallway.  She can feel his close proximity as she begins to walk.  It’s strange how now that she is out of the bedroom, her head has suddenly begun to clear.  She’s beginning to see Harry for what he really is again and the feeling makes her stomach turn sour.

Why did she begin to trust him?  Why did she let him get under her defenses?  The sympathy she had felt for him last night seems to have turned all of her senses down to mute.  She’s allowed herself to forget the man he really is.  Her captor.

She is surprised when she sees the basement door appear in front of her and quickly turns her head to look at Harry.  She forces herself to keep her face straight as he smiles down at her.  Faint anger buzzes in the back of her mind and she reaches up her hand to push him away just as he leans in, grabbing her waist and pressing his lips gently onto hers.  The sensation that spreads through her is unexpected as she gasps into his lips.  He pulls away before she can decide whether or not to kiss him back and he turns to look at the set of keys in his hand. 

As he unlocks the door, Arianna bites down on her lip.  The feeling that had swept through her when she felt his lips on hers is leaving her even more confused.  She lets out a small sigh as the door swings open in front of her.  Harry steps through it and she follows, keeping her eyes straight ahead as they walk to her cell.

She glances through the bars and the first thing she sees is the rotting apple that is sitting on her bedside table.  The sight of it brings the memory of the anger she had felt towards Harry to the front of her mind.  She mindlessly walks through the door and towards it, ignoring the sound of the door shutting and Harry’s footsteps as he walks away. 

She sits down on her bed and stares at the apple, thinking hard about every single event that has occurred in the past day.  First Xenia gets brought in and Arianna is furious at Harry.  Then somehow, he makes her forgive him and he kisses her and angrily storms out of the room.  Again, Arianna feels somewhat angry towards him.  She tries to escape and he brings her back.  She’s angry at him again.  She forgives him and kisses him again.  Now, she is back to being angry at him.  Is this some sort of vicious cycle she’s caught in?  Does this happen to all the girls or just her?

She glances over her shoulder at the window that leads to Elaina’s cell.  She finds it difficult to believe that Elaina has had this happen to her.  She’s so smart, experienced and fierce that she would have never fallen for Harry’s games the way that Arianna has.  She’s probably seen through him this entire time.  After all, she still calls him a psychopath.

Nevertheless, Arianna crawls towards the window and perches up on her thighs.  “I’m ready to talk again, Elaina,” she calls out, waiting patiently for her response.

She appears in the window a couple seconds later, a small smile on her face.  “Secrets are about to be spilled,” she says, rubbing her hands together in a mischievous way.

Arianna gathers her face in the palms of her hands and takes a deep breath, shuddering through her lips.  Just the thought of everything that has happened in the past day is enough to make her feel like she is going crazy.

“Have you ever wondered why Harry is the way he is?” she asks, slowly dropping her hands to her lap.

“I think every one of us have wondered that at least once since the day we got here,” she answers, looking down at the floor.  Her long, auburn hair falls around her face, accentuating her prominent cheekbones.

“Have you ever asked him about it?”

“I can’t say that I have ever had the urge to ask him anything personal about himself.  It’s not like he would give me any answers anyway.”

Arianna breathes slowly in and out.  Harry won’t answer Elaina’s questions but he will answer hers?  Feeling even more confused, she frowns and looks up at Elaina who is watching her suspiciously.

“Why?” she asks.  “Did he tell you something?”

“He told me lots of things.  Well, not really that much, but a lot for someone like him.”

“Like what types of things?”

“I don’t know, just,” Arianna sighs, pausing.  Should she tell Elaina about the small details she discovered about Harry’s life?  What if she tells Harry about it?  “Some stuff about his parents and how he feels about all of this.”

“Why would he tell you though?”

“I’m not exactly sure.  It seems like he’s been doing a lot of things with me that he doesn’t do with the rest of you.”

“So he just told you?  You didn’t have to pry it out of him?” she asks, her eyebrows lowering in confusion.

“No.  He was vulnerable and I brought myself down to his level.  I don’t know.  People have always been that way around me.  I guess they feel like they can easily confide things in me,” Arianna explains, biting on her lip.

“Did he do anything to you?”

“No.  We’ve only kissed a couple times,” Arianna answers, her heart pattering faster when she thinks about how fast he had jumped off of her when she had tried to take it a step further. 

“I’m surprised.  Usually, he doesn’t wait.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, how do you keep your thoughts straight while you are around him?”

“It’s not difficult.  My thoughts of him have never changed,” she states, shrugging her thin shoulders.

Her answer sends fear shooting through Arianna.  She’s never changed her opinion of him, even after all the things he’s done to her?  All the times he’s kissed her?  Arianna had expected to be told that all of them have felt this way about him at one time or another.  Instead, her greatest fear is pushed front and center.  She is starting to maybe, possibly care for him.

“I-I felt something… when he kissed me.   I don’t know why or how to explain it but I actually let myself feel bad for him.  Just for a minute, I forgot who he is and what he’s done.”

“Arianna!  You can’t let him trick you like this!” Elaina exclaims, her blue eyes widening and her jaw falling slack.

“I know.  I know what’s he’s like but I can’t help but feel he’s being serious.  Maybe he really isn’t such a bad person behind everything he’s done.”

“He took Xenia.”

“What?  He took- What?” she asks in disbelief, feeling her heart sink all the way to her stomach.

“He took her yesterday while you were in the shower.  He hasn’t brought her back down here since.  I don’t know where she is or what he is doing with her,” Elaina continues, her face turning paler with every word.

“She wasn’t in the bedroom, Elaina.  She wasn’t because I was,” Arianna says, her voice wary as she stares down at the bed under her.  “Where did her take her?  Who was she with?  Do you think he is with her now?”

Arianna jumps up from the bed and walks briskly to the bars on the front of the cell.  She feels anger swell up in her as she looks towards the basement door.  Her hands gripping tightly around the bars.

“I don’t know, Arianna.  I don’t know what to tell you.  This isn’t the first time he has done this,” Elaina says quietly. Arianna turns her head and hears Elaina crawling up onto her bed. 

“This is the last time he’s doing this to me,” she states, dropping her hands from the bars and walking back to her bed.

She drops to the floor and pulls her knees up to her chest, feeling it heave up and down as her breathing increases.  Tears threaten to pool in the corners of her eyes but she blinks them back.  He won’t make her cry again.  She drops her head into her clenched fists and breathes loudly into them.  If only there was a way she could get away from him for good.

 


	19. 18.

“Stop her!”

Harry awakens with a start, jolting upwards in the bed.  Sweat coats his skin, causing his dark curls to stick to the sides of his face and the back of his neck.  It’s almost like the words didn’t even come from his mouth, other than the fact that he can still feel his mouth moving to make them.  The dream was realistic and he can still feel his feet pounding down the basement stairs, the fear and anger pulsing through his veins.  His chest shakes up and down with each strangled breath he takes. 

His dark bedroom begins to come into focus around him and he feels himself slowly calming down.  His eyes focus on the small stereo sitting on a table at the base of the bed and he licks his dry lips.  The tangled blankets on his legs and torso fall away as he stands up and grabs the full glass of water beside his bed.  He takes a short drink before he pulls it from his lips.  His fist clenches around it, feeling anger pump through his body once more.

He closes his eyes and groans when he hears the sound of glass shattering on the floor at his feet.  The remaining water in the glass runs across the floor, seeping into the cracks in the hardwood and soaking his bare feet.  He sighs and runs a hand through his hair, shaking the damp curls with his fingers.  The anger is quickly retreating and he is starting to feel afraid again.

In an attempt to dull the feeling, he heads downstairs for a drink of scotch.  It’s been a few days since he has had a drink and he feels like he only owes it to himself.  His feet slap on the floor as he walks quickly down the stairs.  His stomach clenches as he glances at the bedroom door where he is keeping her.  He forces himself to pull his eyes away and he walks to the kitchen.  The room is dark so he reaches over and flicks on the light switch.  His eyes blink at the bright lights and he stumbles over to the counter.  The bottom of the stool scrapes loudly against the floor as he pulls it out and takes a seat on it.  His head falls into his hands, fingers clutching onto his hair and pulling slightly.  He sighs before his teeth clench, trying to cut off the thoughts that are continuously stringing through his brain. 

His eyes snap up to the full bottle of scotch sitting on the counter a few feet away from him.  He examines the small bottle, the fire burning in him stronger and faster.  He stands up so quickly that the stool nearly falls over, rocking back and forth on the tile.  His hand clutches for the bottle and he jerks it towards him, knocking over two other empty bottles in the process.  They roll along the countertop, one of them dropping to the floor and rolling under the counter. 

He falls back onto the stool, lifting his feet and placing them on the first rung.  His elbows lean against the countertop as his fingers twist the lid of the bottle off and toss it onto the floor.  He brings the bottle to his lips, taking a large amount of alcohol into his mouth.  He pulls it away and sets it down on the countertop as he swallows, sighing as the fiery flavor burns all the way to his stomach.

He closes his eyes and grabs his forehead in his hand, pressing his fingertips against the skin.  The thoughts the that dream has brought upon him continue to crash into him like waves, each one making it harder and harder for him to catch his breath.  He had never intended for any of this to happen when he started all of this.  It was nothing but a complication he had not foreseen.  However, the fact doesn’t make him feel any better about it. 

He takes another short drink, focusing his eyes on the small clock on the wall.  The miniscule second hand moves around and around and with every movement, he feels his head becoming more unclear.  He glances down at the bottle which is now only half full and his heavy eyes slowly move to the doorway.  He picks up the bottle and stands, a warm feeling spreading through him as he uses his other hand to steady himself.

He brings the bottle to his lips as he walks towards the hallway.  His side bumps into the edge of the doorway and some liquor splashes onto the floor.  “Shit,” he mumbles, gravitating away from it and stepping into the hallway. 

The darkness that engulfs him once he escapes the light of the kitchen causes his senses to dull.  He wobbles as he walks, gripping the bottle tighter and stopping to lean against the door on his right.  His hand grabs the knob and turns it, a feeling of annoyance rushing through him when it doesn’t open.

“Damnit!” he exclaims, lifting his hand to pound against the wood. 

The sound of a gasp causes him to drop his hand back to his side.  He remains silent as quiet footsteps approach the door.  Her hands bump into the wood and he can hear her panicked breathing over his own angry pants.

“Go back to bed,” he orders, glaring at the wood in front of him.

“Where am I?” she asks, her voice strangled.

The alcohol in his system makes him laugh.  He leans his head back against the door as the quiet chuckles escape his lips.

“Please,” she cries, rattling the doorknob.

“You’re fine.  Quit your whining,” Harry replies, his face falling flat again.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” she asks.

“Why aren’t you?” he retorts, feeling a smirk capture his face.

“You were yelling and banging on the door.”

“It’s my house.”

A short silence overlaps them while Harry traces over one of the tattoos on his wrist.  The absence of her breathing makes his heart ache and despite the previous anger towards her, he feels desperation rush through him.

“Are you still there?” he asks, placing his hand on the wood.  There is no answer.

“Xenia?”

“I’m here,” she replies, her voice no louder than a whisper.

“Good,” Harry sighs, running his hand through his hair.  He slowly drops to the floor, setting the bottle of scotch next to him and pulling his knees up to his chest.

“Why are you still out there?”

“I don’t have my key.”

“Then why don’t you go back to bed?”

Harry sighs and rests his hands on top of his knees.  The alcohol that is pumping through his veins normally makes him feel carefree but right now he couldn’t be more exhausted.  He flutters his eyes closed and leans his head back against the door.

“I don’t want to be alone right now,” he admits, causing her to purse her lips and lower herself to the floor on the opposite side of the wood.

“Okay,” she whispers after a moment of silence.  The sound of her voice is the last thing he hears as sleep consumes him.

 

 

 **Harry groans loudly as he is pulled from sleep.** His green eyes flutter open and land on his feet which are stretched out in front of him.  His hand reaches up and glides through his hair as his stiff neck leans forward.  He rubs the tense muscles, blowing air through his lips and stretching his legs.  He glances at the bottle of scotch next to him, nearly empty.  His removes his eyes from it and looks to the side, noticing the light still pouring from the kitchen into the dim hallway.

He grunts and rolls over onto his knees, slowly standing up and stretching his arms above his head.  The muscles on his long torso elongate and compress as he straightens his posture, pulling his tank top back down over the waistband of his low hanging jogging pants.  His messy hair flops down slightly against his forehead as his bare feet move in the direction of the basement.

Worries about what he is about to do cross his mind but he quickly works to silence them.  He doesn’t need to undo all of the progress he established before he fell asleep last night.  Although the drinking was a minor setback, he now feels back to normal.  All the fears from the dream he had have been erased from his memory.

He walks quickly down the stairs and pauses at the bottom, punching a short code into the pad next to the door.  It clicks and a tiny door pops open, revealing a spare set of keys.  He snatches them out and closes the door before flipping to the key for the basement door.  He twists it in the lock and pushes the door open, determination fueling his actions.

He glances in the cells as he walks by them, noticing how every single girl watches him, some with hope in their eyes and some without.  When he reaches Arianna’s cell, he is greeted with fury.  She rushes over to the door and grasps her tiny hands around the bars.

“What did you do with Xenia?” she demands, her eyes blazing up at him.

The mention of her name causes his heart to pause its excited pattering.  Moments from last night, sitting outside of her door flood his mind.  

“What did you do with her?  Where is she?”

Her insistent questions buzz in the back of his mind as he remembers the reason why he was near Xenia in the first place.  He pulls his eyes away from hers and looks towards the basement door.  His feet begin moving towards it before he intends to but he doesn’t attempt to turn back.

“What did you do with her, Harry?  You fucking answer me!  Harry!” Arianna yells, her face turning a shade deeper as her hands shake the bars. 

Harry blocks her out and continues towards the door, jerking it open and slamming it closed behind him.  He begins walking up the stairs when his phone buzzes in his pocket, causing him to pause and grab it out.  He presses the button on the top to turn it on and glances at the bright screen.

_Did you do it yet?_

He stares at the words for a few seconds before responding: _No, did you?_

He minimizes the conversation and looks down at the steps below him, waiting for a response.  His phone vibrates in his hand and the screen lights up once more.

_Nope.  Didn’t have the balls.  Been thinking, maybe we could meet up and do it together.  That way it could be less messy.  Assuming you remember what happened last time?_

_I remember_ , Harry types, gritting his teeth and breathing loudly through his nose.

_Then it’s a date?_

_Fine._

Harry shoves the phone back in the pocket of his jogging pants and spins to face the basement door, his mind reeling.  Before he can stop himself, his hand turns the doorknob and his feet are leading him back to her cell.  He huffs when he pauses in front of her door and she immediately jumps off of her bed, hurrying over to meet him on the other side of the bars.

“Come on, Arianna.  We’re going upstairs,” he says, his face scrunching into a frown.

“No!  I’m not going with you this time so fuck off!” she screams, slamming her hands against the bars and making Harry step backwards.

His eyes turn a shade darker and he approaches the cell again.  “Cut the shit.  I don’t have time for this right now,” he snaps, surprised when she doesn’t lose her confidence.

“No, Harry!  I don’t want to go anywhere with you ever again!”

Harry takes in the furious expression on her face and clenches his teeth, taking in a deep breath.  He doesn’t want to fight with her.  He knows that this is only a distraction and he won’t let her win.  He lifts the set of keys he was holding up to his face and selects the one for the door in front of him.  He jams it in the lock and turns it, swinging the door wide open.

He steps over the threshold and walks towards her, noticing how she backs up towards the bed.  Her eyes lock on his, brimming with hostility. 

“I swear if you touch me,” she warns, tensing her arms at her sides.

Harry ignores her words and reaches out for her, grabbing her around the wrist before she can slap him across the face.  She grunts and tries to pull out of his tight grip as he begins walking out of the cell.

“Elaina!” she calls out as he drags her through the door.

She’s not certain why she called out for her but she didn’t know what else she could do.  It’s not like Elaina can help her but for some reason, she hopes she can talk Harry out of it.

“Harry, you leave her alone!  Harry!  She’s not like the rest of us so stop trying to get your way!  Harry!” Elaina yells after them, her voice booming off of the walls.

Harry slams the basement door behind them before she can finish.  His mouth is set in a straight line as he locks the door and shoves the keys into the front pocket of his jogging pants.  The muscles in his arms flex as he grips onto the railing with his free hand and begins dragging her up the steep staircase.  Arianna remains silent as he guides her up the stairs.  Anger continues to pump through her veins but she bites her tongue.  She doesn’t want to give him the satisfaction of a fight.

When they reach the top of the stairs, they turn left instead of going to the bedroom and head towards the front door.  Arianna’s shoes drag on the floor as her eyes fall onto a puddle of spilled alcohol on the floor of the kitchen doorway.  A loud gasp is forced through her lips when he pushes her back up against the wood of the door.  Harry’s hands pin hers next to her body and he leans in close to her face.  She squeezes her eyes shut, hoping he won’t try to kiss her.

“Listen to me.  Don’t go trying to pull any of your escape shit.  I had a hard enough time just bringing myself to consider doing this for you,” he growls, his hard eyes locking on hers when they fly open.

“What are you talking about, Harry?” Arianna whispers, blinking repeatedly.

He ignores her question and reaches around her, dropping her wrists and opening the front door.  She spins around and spots Simeon standing a few feet away in the driveway.

“We were talking and agreed that a break from all of this would be the best thing for you.  So go,” he explains, gesturing to Simeon.  “I’m only giving you an hour.”

Arianna remains standing in the doorway, her breaths coming slowly from her lips.  The warm sun reaches her skin and she looks up at the cloudless, blue sky.  She sucks in her breath and focuses her gaze on Simeon, who gives her a slight shrug and smiles at her.  She hears the door slam behind her and glances over her shoulder, hearing Simeon chuckle.

She turns back to look at him but doesn’t return his smile when she sees the swelling from the cuts on his face.  “So are you coming or what?” he asks, the sun illuminating his brown eyes.

“Was he being serious?” she questions, raising her eyebrows.

“Yes.  I have his permission this time,” he answers and she gives him a confused look.  “Follow me.”

He starts walking towards the backyard of the house and Arianna hesitantly walks down the porch steps and onto the gravel driveway.  Questions about what the meaning of this is spin around in her head as her feet move to follow him.  It’s easy to spot his tall figure walking into the forest at the edge of the yard.  She picks up her pace to keep up with his large strides, her feet pounding on the leaf strewn ground.

“Why is he letting me out here?” she asks as she approaches him from behind, falling into a regular pace at his side.

“He said something about trusting you,” Simeon breathes as they begin walking uphill.

Arianna sighs and looks to her right.  Her eyes sweep over the irregular trees while anger flares up in her again.  Harry doesn’t deserve her trust or even the idea of her trust.  The way he took Xenia and refused to give her answers about it should reward him with the pleasure of never getting to speak to her again.  She’s given him enough chances and forgiven him enough times that he doesn’t deserve any more.  If he won’t tell her what she needs to know, she won’t let him tell her anything else.

“I don’t trust him,” she whispers, looking up at Simeon as they approach a small opening in the trees.

In front of them is a tiny ravine with a short, wooden railing along it.  Simeon walks to the edge of it and leans against the wood, looking down at the bottom.

“That seems like a normal reaction,” Simeon replies as Arianna comes to a stop beside him, glancing down at the dry bottom.  She was expecting to see a small stream but there are only dead trees and grass along the ground.  “But being here usually makes you feel like you need someone to at least rely on.”

“I don’t rely on people,” she says, sitting down and dangling her legs over the edge.

“Oh, before I forget, Harry wanted me to bring these along.”  Arianna watches as Simeon reaches into his shirt pocket and pulls out a package of cigarettes.  The sight causes her jaw to slacken.

“For me?”

“For you.”

Simeon digs his fingernails under the tab and pops it open, handing her a cigarette and lighter from his other pocket.  Her hands shake as she stares down at the forbidden objects in her hands. 

“I can’t believe he remembered,” she whispers, bringing the cigarette between her lips.

She flicks the lighter on and ignites the tip of it, breathing deeply when the scent of nicotine reaches her nose.  Simeon watches her with a smile on his face.  “I don’t know if he remembered.  He does smoke them like he’ll never see another one so maybe he just thought you might like one, too.”

The conversation drifts off into silence and Arianna finds herself staring off into the distance, swinging her feet back and forth.  The lit cigarette is pinched between her thin fingers, her body feeling truly relaxed since the first time she got here.

“How can you not rely on anyone?” Simeon asks, bringing up their previous conversation as he lowers himself to sit next to her.

Arianna sighs and turns to look at him.  “I don’t know.  I guess I just learned not to a long time ago.  I haven’t really thought about it that much.”

“You sound kind of like Harry,” he comments, squinting as the sunlight peers through the trees and into his eyes.

“How?”

“Harry doesn’t have any relationships with people.”

“None at all?”

“No.  He doesn’t believe in them.  He doesn’t speak with his family, he doesn’t have any friends anymore.  He just isn’t the type of person that can put a label on anything.  He’s not like you and me.”

“What about your family?  Do you talk to them?” she asks, trying to change the subject.

“My family doesn’t exactly know how to have relationships, either.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.  I’m not so bothered by it anymore,” he says, shrugging and leaning his elbows on the railing.

“My parents don’t really care about me, either,” she admits, pursing her lips.

“Why do you say that?”

“They just want me to be who I’m not.  They don’t listen to me when I tell them that I don’t love gymnastics anymore and they lecture me against the things I do love to do,” she explains, feeling her chest tighten at the thought of her parents.  As much as she wants to be angry with them, she would do anything to be back home with them right now.

“You miss them though?” Simeon asks, his thick eyebrows lowering.

“Yeah,” she answers, taking another drag from her cigarette.  The smoke fills her lungs, replacing the suffocating feeling and making her feel better.

“I’m sorry that this happened to you.”

“Me too,” she whispers, closing her eyes and taking in another cloud of smoke into her already full lungs.


	20. 19.

Harry’s hands grip tighter onto the steering wheel as his eyes scan the busy highway in front of him.  He quickly speeds past the cars on either side of him, the sound of the large, pickup truck roaring over the music that is playing loudly through the speakers.  Harry sucks his breath in when Simeon reaches over and turns it down. 

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asks, his brown eyes examining the side of Harry’s face when he refuses to make eye contact with him.

“You act like we have a choice,” Harry replies, glancing in the rear-view mirror.  Tonight, he is on the lookout for cops even more so than usual.

“Well, we could always turn him in first.  Give an anonymous tip-”

“You know we can’t do that,” Harry interrupts, snapping his eyes up to meet Simeon’s face.  “It would endanger everything we have, including our own lives.  You know that.  Besides, this isn’t the first time we’ve done something like this for him.”

“I understand.  I just don’t want this to be a lifelong commitment.”

“It is what it is,” Harry snaps, twisting his hands against the tightly bound leather. 

He reaches over and turns the music back up, signalling the end of their conversation.  Simeon watches him for a few more seconds before he turns and looks out his window.

The rest of the drive is completed in silence, tension on Harry’s side and worry on Simeon’s.  Neither one of them want to discuss the feelings they are having over what they are about to do.  The truck’s headlights illuminate the dirt road ahead of them as they turn off of the highway.  The field on both sides of them is empty as they drive through.  Harry turns the music down as they pull over on the side of the road behind three other cars. 

He turns the engine off and sticks the keys and his phone into the back pocket of his jeans before forcing the door open.  He steps down onto the ground as Simeon walks around the front to meet him.  He slams the door shut and sighs as he walks towards the group of people a couple feet in front of him.  A collection of mismatched lawn chairs are laid out in a large circle on the grass.  The bright light of a small bonfire illuminates the faces of the people sitting around it and their own faces as they approach it.

“There he is.  The man of the hour, ladies and gentleman,” a heavily tattooed man announces, raising his bottle of beer in their direction.

Harry enters the circle with Simeon trailing on his heels, taking an empty seat and puffing out the words, “Pierce,” in acknowledgment. 

All eyes are on them for a moment, a few of the people nodding their heads or giving him a quick wave before they turn away.  Pierce stands up from his chair and reaches into the empty cooler in front of him on the ground.  He grabs out a full beer bottle and tosses it across the fire and into Harry’s waiting hand.  Harry watches him as he sits back down, scratching his fingers through his short, black hair.  His lips curl upwards as Harry pops the lid off of his drink and brings it up to his lips.

“Does your friend want a drink?” Pierce offers, gesturing at Simeon with his beer and sloshing some onto the ground.

“No,” Harry answers quickly, watching Pierce’s face as he begins laughing.  The light from the flames licks at his collarbones and causes an eerie shadow to appear under his dark, brown eyes.

“Suit yourself,” he answers, shrugging and taking a drink from his own bottle.

Some other chatter in the group picks up as they fall silent.  Harry’s eyes travel around the circle, pausing on two young girls sitting among the drunk men.  The scared looks on their faces makes him feel slightly guilty.  However, the moment quickly passes when Pierce turns the group’s attention to him once more.

“Do you like them?” he asks, glancing at the girls and then Harry.  “I’m afraid they’re not for sale, my friend.  Isn’t that right, girls?”

They both turn to look at him, breaking their eyes away from Harry’s intense gaze.  The blonde one smiles at Pierce while the other one clutches onto the arm of her chair.

“You know what I say.  Two is always better than one,” he continues, earning a few chuckles from the group. Harry, however, remains silent as he watches the girls.

“Can they have a drink?” Harry asks, running his hand through his curls.

“Not tonight,” Pierce answers, smiling devilishly.

The younger of the two girls locks eyes with him.  He doesn’t know why but he continues to feel guilt consume him.  It isn’t the first time he has seen Pierce’s girls while he was with him but it’s the first time he’s wanted to do something about it. 

He clears his throat as her grey eyes eat into him.  For a moment, Arianna’s grey eyes flash in his mind.  He feels his heart rate increase and grips onto the neck of his beer bottle tighter.  Is she the reason he’s feeling this way?  The thought sends him hurtling over the edge.  He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a package of cigarettes.  He tears them open and looks up when Simeon passes him his lighter.

“Sorry.  I forgot to give it back to you,” he says, feeling tiny under Harry’s annoyed gaze.

Harry sighs and brings it to the tip of his cigarette, hungrily attaching it to his lips and sucking in the toxic air.  He looks over at Pierce, his eyelids lowering as he glares at him.

“I thought we agreed we weren’t smoking anything tonight,” he says, raising his arched eyebrows.

“I don’t give a fuck,” Harry mutters in response, blowing a ring of smoke from his lips.

Pierce chuckles and leans forward in his chair, gesturing to the blonde girl.  “Come here,” he says, smiling when she stands and walks towards him. 

Harry’s eyes sweep over her body, taking in her long, tan legs and pouty, red lips.  His pupils dilate as she takes a seat on Pierce’s lap and runs her arm along the back of his neck.  He pulls his eyes away from her and over to the other girl who is now sitting alone.  When she tries to make eye contact with him again, he looks away.

“So, Harry.  I hear that you have some of your own girls,” one of the men on his left says, gaining his full attention.

“Yeah, I do.”

“He has quite an impressive collection.  Something I still haven’t learned to achieve,” Pierce adds, running his tattooed hand up and down the blonde girl’s thigh.  “Did you know he lets me have them when he’s finished with them?”

“No.  I didn’t know that,” the man answers, his greying eyebrows lifting.

“He actually just gave me one a month ago.  What was her name…Arianna?”

“Tammy,” Harry growls, his entire body tensing as Pierce chuckles.

“Right.  I’ve never been good with names,” he shrugs, glancing at the girl on his lap.  “I honestly couldn’t even guess what her name is.”

“Can we just move on to the greenhouse?” Harry interjects, crossing his arms.

“Ah, yes.  My sister is pretty positive that there is a stash of weed hidden inside somewhere.”

“Your sister?” Simeon interrupts, causing everyone’s heads to snap in his direction.

“She’s been working in the greenhouse for the past few months.  She does all of his inside jobs,” Harry answers quietly, trying to silence him.

Pierce smiles crookedly and continues, “I require all of you to help me find it… quickly.  So I’ve invited you here to drink and work out a plan.  I’d like to have it by the end of the month.”

“Oh, so we’re not doing it tonight,” one of the men says, slightly relieved.

“No, my friend.  We’re here to discuss it and have a good time,” he answers, raising his beer in the air for a toast.  Harry is the only one who doesn’t raise his bottle.

“What do you mean we’re not doing it tonight?” he asks forcefully, causing Pierce’s eyes to fall on him and a grin to spread on his lips.

“It’s exactly what it sounds like, Styles,” he answers, lifting his free hand and running it through the blonde’s long hair.

“So you made me drive all the fucking way out here to do what?  Say hello?” Harry snaps, his jaw clenching as annoyance consumes him.

“I haven’t seen you in a while.  I thought it would be nice to catch up.”

“Fuck,” Harry complains, running his hands down his face.  “Why didn’t you tell me that then?  You said we were getting it over with tonight.  That was the plan remember?”

“It was the plan but plans change.”

The forgotten cigarette in his hand gets tossed into the fire as he stands from his chair and approaches Pierce.  “Fine.  I’m out of here, then.  Call me when you grow a pair,” Harry snaps, nearly colliding with Simeon when he turns and storms towards the truck.

“You shouldn’t speak to him that way,” Simeon says, jogging to catch up with him.

“I don’t give a fuck about how I speak to him.  He was being a prick.  He deserves what he got,” Harry barks, turning to scowl at Simeon over his shoulder.

His shoes rip up the dirt as he walks quickly to the truck, thrusting the front door open and hopping into the driver’s seat.  He pulls the chair forwards and grips the steering wheel while turning the keys in the ignition with his other hand.  His foot slams down on the gas as he shifts the gear stick into reverse, peeling out of the grass.  The road is dark through his rear-view mirror as he backs up down the dirt road, spinning the wheel and turning swiftly to face forwards again.

Simeon doesn’t comment on Harry’s mood while they approach the highway once more.  The headlights from the other cars passing them flash into their faces, causing them to squint their eyes.  Harry reaches over to turn up the music, staring out the window with hooded eyes.  The entire night has been a waste and now he’s left feeling angry and confused. 

He pushes the thought of the young girl’s eyes on him out of his mind as he presses down his foot, speeding up the truck.  His finger reaches over and presses down the button on the arm rest, rolling both the front windows down.  The wind rushes through his hair, brushing the soft curls against his forehead as he glares at the window.  The road seems never-ending, giving him more time to allow the anger in him to increase.  His fingers curl around the steering wheel, pressing until it hurts.  The pain does little to diffuse the annoyance he is feeling towards everyone. 

“Do you want me to drive?” Simeon asks when he notices Harry’s tense posture.

“No. I’m fine,” Harry spats, keeping his eyes on the road as Simeon faces forwards again.

The rest of the drive moves quickly because of Harry’s escalating anger and he finds himself having to slam on the brakes as they enter the driveway, causing the tires to dig into the soft dirt and leave skid marks behind.

Harry rips the keys out of the ignition and pushes the door open, swinging his legs out and jumping down onto the ground.  His feet carry him quickly in the direction of the house, boots tearing up the gravel.  His hand clenches around the doorknob and he unlocks it, jerking the front door open and storming into the house without closing it behind him.  He can feel his face flush as he approaches the first bedroom door, not even pausing before he opens it and enters the room.

“Harry!” Arianna squeaks, jumping from fright on the bed.

She tucks her legs under her and sits up on the bed as he storms towards her.  His eyes are blazing and she can tell he is grinding his teeth together from across the room.  The rage is evident on his face, yet Arianna doesn’t move as he continues to approach her.  She sucks in her breath as he walks past her, her head snapping to watch him approach the wall next to the window.  He raises both of his fists and pounds them against the wall, yelling in frustration.

She flinches as he raises his hand again and throws a punch into the wall.  A groan falls from his lips as he lifts his fist again.  Before he can swing, Arianna’s hands are clutching onto his upper arm.

“Stop!  You’re hurting yourself!  Stop!” she cries out, pulling his arm away from the wall.

He turns and looks at her, his eyes flaming and his jaw taut.  The look causes her to drop his arm and take a step back.  His nostrils flare as he looks down at her, speechless even though she knows there are a thousand words swimming inside his brain, just waiting to be thrown at her.

Her lips fall open as he walks away from her, tousling his hair with his fingers and sighing in frustration.  She watches his back as he retreats towards the door, pausing in front of it and standing still.  His once heaving chest stills and his clenched fists come to a rest next to his narrow hips.  The tension in the room becomes thicker as they both wait for the explosion they know is coming.

Harry huffs and his bloodshot eyes dart to the opposite wall, his lip being taken between his teeth.  Arianna feels nervousness shoot through her as he holds his breath.  He won’t hurt her, right?  She looks up and his eyes lock on hers, immediately narrowing into a glare.

“Stop doing that,” he snaps, taking a step back.

“What?” she chokes out, raising her shaking arms to cross them over her chest.

“Looking at me like that!” he exclaims, throwing his hands up in the air.

She blinks at his harsh outburst and looks down at the floor.  She can feel his blazing gaze on her but she refuses to glance at him. 

“Can I ask what happened?” she questions after a moment of silence.

“No.”

The anger in his voice is still evident but the tension in the room has diffused slightly.  Arianna glances towards the door, wishing that if he doesn’t want to fight, he would just leave.  She hasn’t forgiven him for what he did to Xenia and she doesn’t want to fall into his trap again.

“You’re pissed at me?” Harry asks, his face falling flat momentarily.

“Yes, Harry.  I am.”

“Well, you shouldn’t be. You have no reason to be angry with me!” he explodes, advancing on her.

She takes a couple steps backwards before shaking her head and taking one step toward him.  “I’m not going to discuss this with you right now!”

“When then?  You have all the time in the fucking world!” he interjects, his face flooding with red again.

“Never.  I don’t want to talk about it!  Especially with you!”

“Why not?  You seemed like you wanted to confide in me before!  Or was that just an act?”

“What are you talking about?” Arianna asks, feeling annoyance creeping up on her.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” he sighs angrily, running his fingers through his hair and causing it to stick up in strange directions.

“No.  I don’t.  You walked in here angry and now you’re acting like I was the one that made you that way in the first place!  I’m not letting you blame me this time!”

“Blame you?  It was you!  It’s always you, Arianna!  You’re fucking with my head and I don’t know how to make it stop!  I don’t even know if I want it to stop!  That’s how messed up you’ve made me!  I can’t even think straight!” Harry shouts, his body tensing as he comes to a stop in front of her.

“How do you think I feel?” Arianna asks quietly, feeling tears collecting on her eyelashes.

Harry breathes loudly, his dark eyes softening for a second.  His hand reaches out towards her but then he stops, pulling it back to his side.

“See!  This is exactly what I’m talking about!” he explodes, causing Arianna to startle.  “You just don’t know when to stop trying to make me feel sorry for you!  You keep assuming that if I fall for it, I’ll treat you differently.  But the truth is, I won’t.  You’re just like the other girls in here.  You don’t mean shit to me and I don’t mean shit you.”

His words hit her exactly as he meant them to.  The hurt isn’t even minimized by the flustered look on his face that would usually make her heart race in her chest.  Instead, she feels defeated.  All of the things Elaina had warned her about only days ago are coming to life.  She feels her chest tightening but forces her tears to stay put.  It hurts even more when he turns and walks towards the door without another word or glance in her direction.

She opens her mouth to say something but her vocal cords strain and all that comes out is a small squeak.  What would she say anyways?  It’s not like she can change his mind or like she wants to.  A small sigh slips through her lips and she reaches up to wipe her eyes with her shirt sleeve. 

“Do you sympathize me?  Is that what this is?”

Arianna looks up to find Harry walking back towards her.  His finger is pointing accusingly at her and his face is a mixture of fury and hurt.

“No.  I don’t know.  No, Harry!  It’s not!” Arianna scrambles, storming across the room to meet him in the middle.

“Then what is it?  Why do you do this?  Why do you care about me?”

The questions hit her quickly and her brain spins to keep up with them.  “How do you know I care about you?” she asks quietly, ignoring the other two questions.

“I might be confused but I’m not stupid,” he says, rolling his eyes.

The gesture makes anger run through her.  He knows she cares about him and yet, he still picks her up only to drop her back on the ground again.  She pulls her eyes away from him and walks towards the door.  She doesn’t know where is going but she needs to get out of this tiny room and Harry’s overwhelming presence.

He remains silent as she storms past him and she is glad.  She doesn’t want him to make her feel guilty and forgive him again. 

“I’m sorry.  Please come back,” Harry calls out after her.  His voice isn’t as soft or pleading as she expected it to be.

She ignores him and continues walking towards the door.  An exasperated gasp is forced though her lips when he grabs onto her arm and pulls her backwards.  She spins around to push him off of her but is stopped when his lips slam onto hers.


	21. 20.

He kisses her hard as she tries to pull away from him.  The scent of his strong cologne fogging her mind as the movement of his lips become softer, molding carefully against hers.  She quickly raises her hands and places them on his chest, trying to push him away but his gentle kiss overtakes her.  Her lips move with his as a moan radiates from her chest.  He smiles against her lips and pulls her closer, running his hands down to her waist.  She slides her hands up around his neck and opens her mouth, allowing his tongue to slip inside.  It sweeps inside her mouth, hot air being exchanged between them before it slides out again.

He moans quietly and breaks away from her lips, reattaching his onto the warm skin just above her collarbone.  His teeth graze her skin and he smiles when a gasp escapes her lips before he continues to kiss up the side of her neck.  Arianna tosses her head back and bites down on her bottom lip to suppress the loud moan that is forming when Harry beginning sucking gently on the skin.

“Harry, we need to talk,” Arianna whispers, her chest moving up and down in synchronization with his.

“About what?” he mumbles, resuming his sloppy kiss just below her jaw.

She squeezes her eyes shut and tries her hardest not to react to him again.  Chills run up and down her spine as he pauses, his mouth only inches from her skin and breathing cool air onto it.  Their chests continue to rise and fall together as they come down from their high.

Suddenly, Harry’s hands drop from her waist and he turns away from her.  “There’s nothing to talk about,” he mumbles, walking quickly towards the window.

Arianna feels dread sweep through her when she realizes she once again let him get the best of her.  She bites down on her lip to hide the slight annoyance she feels towards him since he walked away from her in the middle of their intimacy once again.

She watches his back as he pauses in front of the window, his hands hanging limply at his sides.  She can recall a few minutes ago when he was hitting the wall just beside him.  How did they go from hot to cold so quickly?

Arianna sighs and starts walking towards him.  “There’s plenty to talk about,” she says, causing him to glance over his shoulder at her.

“I don’t want to hear it.”

“I don’t care what you want.  You owe this to me, Harry.  You may think you don’t, but you do, especially after everything you’ve put me through,” she counters, ignoring the fact that he won’t make eye contact with her.

She remains silent as he exhales loudly through his nose.  She notices how his posture changes from emotionless to tense and she takes a half a step back from him.

“What do you think I owe you?” he spats, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“An explanation, Harry!  Several actually!  Why do you just assume that I’m going to be okay with all of this?  Why do you think I’ll always be so willing to forgive you and move on?” she exclaims, throwing her hands up in the air in questioning.

“Because you were just kissing me a couple minutes ago!  That’s why!  And you always do it, you never expect anything.  You always let things slide.  You might act like you want an explanation but to be honest, I don’t think you actually do!”

“I was kissing you?” she retorts, her face slackening in disbelief.  “You were the one kissing me!  I was trying to leave the room and you stopped me!”

“You’re the reason I stopped you!  I wouldn’t stop any of the other girls like that!  Only you!  It’s your own fault that I kissed you!” Harry injects, his eyes blazing again as they make contact with hers.

“Harry, that doesn’t even make any sense!”

“It makes perfect sense!  You drive me crazy!  You make me lose my fucking mind when I’m around you!  I don’t even know why I do half the shit I do!  All I know is it’s your fault, Arianna!” he explodes, taking large strides towards her and stopping when their chests nearly touch.

“Stop blaming it on me!  Stop repeating the same thing over and over again!  It’s not going to convince me of anything!” she yells back, unfazed by his close proximity. 

“You think you can make me fall for you, don’t you?  That’s what this is?” Harry asks as he bends down to be even more in her face. 

“You’re fucking psychotic,” she spats, looking away from him and crossing her arms over her chest.

Suddenly, the energy in the room shifts and his hand shoots up to cup her cheek.  He leans forward but her hands fly up to his chest, pushing him away.

“No, Harry!  I don’t want you to kiss me!  I don’t want you to touch me!  Just leave me alone,” she forces out, emphasizing each sentence with another shove into his chest. 

Her blows don’t hurt him but a different kind of pain is still evident in his eyes as he looks down at her.  His open lips press shut into a thin line and his hands drop defeated at his sides.  Her chest moves up and down quickly and her heart pounds violently against her chest as she watches him stand motionless in front of her.

“Just leave, Harry,” she repeats forcefully, although her voice is lower now.

“I can’t,” he replies, his deadpan eyes catching hers before she sighs and rushes over to the bed.

“Arianna,” he says, quietly, still standing motionless at the window.

“I’m done talking to you, Harry,” she whispers, fixating her eyes on the far wall.

The silence that follows causes tension to consume her body.  She listens carefully for him to approach her but the jumpy rhythm in her chest is the only sound she can hear.  She finds herself clutching her hands together on her lap, hoping that he will break the silence soon.

She sucks in her breath when she feels the mattress dip behind her but doesn’t look over her shoulder.  Harry turns and sits down on the opposite side of the bed with his back facing hers.  He lifts his hands and wipes his face, running his fingers along his jaw and forming his lips into the shape of an O.

Arianna bites her lip and feels tears collecting in her eyes.  The words that were exchanged between them are hitting her over and over again and even though she claims to hate him, she can’t ignore the feeling of longing she has now that are sitting so close together.  She clamps her hand down over her mouth to silence the sobs that fall from her lips as her body begins to shake.  Tears slide down her cheeks and pool against the top of her hand.  She wipes them away and sighs loudly, slapping her hand down on her lap.

“Are you okay?” Harry asks, his voice quiet.

She ignores his question and continues to cry silently.  Harry feels his heart sink in his chest at the sight of her body trembling across from him.  He lays his hand down in the space between them and hesitates before crawling towards her.  Despite the feelings he has and the things he had said only a few moments ago, he hates seeing her like this.  He can’t stand knowing he caused this.

When his hand grasps onto her shoulder, she jumps up from the bed and looks down at him with angry eyes.  His lips fall open but no words come from them as he stares up at her in shock.

“Why do you do this every time?  Just make up your fucking mind, Harry!  Please!” she exclaims, the tears on her rosy cheeks making her look like an insanely, beautiful mess.

“I-Arianna… I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he stutters, his mournful green eyes locking on hers.

“What did you mean to do then, Harry?  Make me hate you?” she accuses, her face reddening further.  “You know I can’t do that!  No matter how hard I try, I can’t hate you!”

“I don’t want you to hate me,” he whispers, falling back and leaning on his heels.

“Then what do you want?”

Harry raises his hand and runs it down his face, letting out a shaky sigh.  A ghostly smile stretches on his lips and his eyes fall down to the mattress.  He hangs his head and shakes it, biting down on his bottom lip.  He doesn’t know what he wants.  He thinks he wants her but then he doesn’t.  He wants to make her happy but he also wants to break her down.  His intentions are unclear and his motives are out of his control.  He wants to care for her and ruin her at the same time. 

“I don’t know,” he says, glancing up at her.

A look of annoyance crosses her features, causing him to stand up quickly from the bed.  “Don’t be angry.  Please.  I just need time to think about it.  Some time to clear my head.  Please,” he begs, watching her eyes shift from angry to unsure.

“I don’t know if I can, Harry.  I don’t know,” she chokes out, struggling to keep her eyes on his face.

His hand reaches out and grabs onto her wrist, trying to pull her closer to him.  She pulls away and his hand drops back to his side.  The look on her face makes his eyes fall to the floor.

“I need some time to think, too,” she says, crossing her arms across her chest.

Harry glances up at her and nods quickly, not saying anything.  He purses his lips together and looks towards the door.  He should give her some time to think but he doesn’t want to leave her in fear that she will choose to hate him.  He doesn’t know if he wants her but he does know that he doesn’t want her to give up on him before he can decide.  He wants to ensure that she will always be there for him when he needs and wants her. 

His eyes shoot back to her tear streaked face and he nods again.  “I’ll go,” he whispers, stepping around her.

For a moment, he thinks she might reach out and stop him but she lets him walk past her and to the door.  He rests his hand on the doorknob and hangs his head once more, giving her one more chance to call him back.  When she remains silent, he opens the door and steps out into the empty hallway, shutting it silently behind him.

**Harry lies in bed,** trying to shut off the voices in his head and fall asleep.  He closes his eyes and rests his head against the pillow, brushing the fallen curls off of his forehead.  He grabs onto his hair, twisting his fingers deeper into the brown locks and he pulls on them before throwing his hand down onto the mattress next to him.

Arianna’s furious face appears in his mind, her lips curling to form words that fall viciously from them.  Her grey eyes are stormy and wide as she yells at him, blaming him for everything that’s happened to them.  Is he the one to blame?  The look on her face when he left her standing in the bedroom should make him believe that but he still refuses to admit it.  She makes him lose his self-control.  She makes him act differently.  She makes him feel things that he didn’t know he was capable of feeling anymore. 

_“No matter how hard I try, I can’t hate you!”_

The only words he can agree with circle around in his head as he flutters his eyes open.  He could never hate her, no matter what she does to him.  He doesn’t know exactly what he feels towards her but he knows he can’t hate her.  It’s been too long and they been through too much to just go back and erase it all. 

The more he hears the words, the more they twist and begin to bother him.  “No matter how hard I try.”  She’s tried to hate him?  He can feel his heart lowering in his chest as the realization hits him.  She’s tried to resist him, several times and all he ever does is continue to push himself onto her.  What does that say about him?  That he’s an awful person?

He shakes his head and closes his eyes again.  This is no revelation to him.  He’s always been an awful person and probably always will be.  She won’t change him, not that much.  Not that he wants to change for her, anyways.

A loud sigh falls from his lips and he rolls over onto his side, pulling the blankets over his shoulder.  He forces his eyes shut and takes a deep breath, trying to relax himself.  Exhaustion pushes down on him and despite his thoughts, he falls into a dreamless sleep.

“Shut up,” Harry mumbles, opening his eyes and looking around the room for the source of the loud beeping. 

His eyes squint down at the flashing alarm on his phone and he groans, swiping the button to the off position.  He rests his head back down on the pillow and groans angrily, glancing at the time.  He’s only gotten an hour of sleep.

He slowly sits up on the bed, rubbing his eyes and yawning.  He might as well have not slept at all.  His messy hair flops down on his forehead as he pushes the blankets off of him and grabs his phone.  He turns the screen on and swipes down to check for any new text messages.  He has no new messages but has one missed phone call.  He reads Pierce’s name and lifts his hand to his hair, ruffling it back and grimacing before turning his phone screen off.

He pulls his legs out of the tangled blankets and sets his bare feet on the floor.  The cold floorboards force him to walk quickly towards the dresser, tossing his phone behind him on the bed as he goes.  He digs through his drawers, pulling out a long sleeved, grey sweater and black skinny jeans.  He pulls the pants up his long legs and over his boxers, ignoring the pounding in his head from standing up so quickly.  He glances at his phone on the mattress before walking towards it, pulling the shirt over his bare chest. 

He leans forward and picks up the phone, bringing up Pierce’s number and pressing the call button.  The echoing ring fills his ear as he walks towards the door, pausing and then walking back to the bed.  He continues pacing until Pierce picks up the phone.

“Styles,” he answers, the coy smile evident in his tone.

“You called,” Harry states, his voice husky from sleep.

“Yes.  I wanted to discuss a few things with you.  Mainly about how you walked out on us last night,” he jokes, making Harry’s face turn into a scowl.

“Get to the point,” he spats, clutching the phone tighter in his hand.

“Alright.  Alright,” Pierce says, calmly.  “After you left, we had a little talk about how and when we are going to accomplish this raid.  We’ve collectively agreed on this Friday.  We’re meeting at the lake house.”

“What if I have plans already?” Harry asks, raising his eyebrows.

Pierce laughs through the phone, causing Harry to pull it briefly away from his ear.  “You’re funny, Styles.”

“I try to be,” Harry replies, cracking a small smile. 

The line goes silent for a second and Harry clears his throat, the smile fading from his face.  “It’s nice to know you haven’t changed,” Pierce comments, stirring something deep inside of Harry.

“I’ll see you Friday,” he says, quickly pressing the end button before Pierce can reply.

He turns the phone off and shoves it in his back pocket.  The topic of change has brought up the conversation he had with Arianna last night.  All of the thoughts that haunted him last night flood back into his head.  Annoyance bears down on him and his feet quickly carry him to the bed where he grabs a pillow and clenches it tightly in his fist.  Instead of throwing it, he hesitates and drops it back onto the bed.

He marches towards the bedroom door and into the hallway.  As he walks down the stairs, his head clears slightly and he can feel the irritating feeling draining out of him.  He approaches the door and is about to open it when he stops.  Should he knock?  The question seems silly since it is his house but he doesn’t want to make Arianna angry by bursting in like he always does.  He takes a deep breath and bites his lip before raising his fist and knocking on the door.  He waits patiently to hear her reply, stuffing his hands in his pockets and staring down at his feet. 

“Hello?” Arianna calls through the wood.

“It’s Harry… Can I come in?”

To his surprise, the door immediately swings open revealing Arianna’s composed face.  Her grey eyes sweep over his face, catching on his and making his words get caught in his throat. 

“Come in,” she says quietly, sweeping her hand through her short, brown hair.

Harry steps over the threshold, turning to close the door behind him.  He follows her into the room, feeling slightly awkward as she pauses next to the bed and stands there looking at him.  He clears his throat twice before he can process what he wants to say to her.

“So, I’ve thought about it and all that I’ve figured out is that I can’t stop thinking about you.  Even if it’s angry thoughts, they always involve you.  I can’t get you off my mind and maybe that’s not such a bad thing,” he admits, twisting his fingers nervously on the belt loop of his jeans.

“I’ve thought about it too and… I know I can’t stay away from you.  I don’t want to stay away from you.”

“So, what are we going to do about it?”

“I don’t know.  I also thought about what you said to me last night and I know I can’t be around you if you are going to treat me the way you do,” she worries, her eyes surveying his.

“I can’t make promises,” Harry replies, shaking his head.

“Then neither can I,” Arianna replies haughtily, breaking eye contact with him.

“Don’t get angry.”

“I’m not.”

“I just want to do this right.”

“Well, you should have thought of that before you did it all wrong,” she counters, crossing her arms.

“You’re getting angry,” Harry points out, keeping his voice relatively low.

“No, I’m not!” she exclaims, her eyes widening and her thin eyebrows shooting upwards.

Harry bites down on his bottom lip and remains where he is standing, watching as Arianna relaxes and hangs her head towards the floor.  He sees the sadness and confusion in her posture and takes a few tentative steps in her direction.

“Can I-” he begins, holding out a hand to her when she lifts her head up to look at him.  She nods her head and tries to give him a small smile.

Harry closes the space between them, wrapping his large arms around her waist and pulling her into him.  Her hands hug around his chest and she buries her head into his shoulder, sighing deeply.  He rests his chin on top of her head and breathes in the faint scent of her strawberry shampoo.  He half expects her to begin crying as he holds her in his arms but instead she pulls away from the hug and grabs his hand in hers.  He looks at her questioningly as she leads him over to the bed.

She climbs onto the mattress backwards, her eyes never leaving his face.  He follows her as she scoots back to make room for him.  A warm feeling spreads through him at the sight of her lying on the bed next to him as he lowers himself down onto the sheets.

“Now, let’s talk about all the things we should have talked about last night,” she whispers, causing him to stare at her in surprise.


	22. 21.

“I thought we just made up,” Harry says, lowering his eyebrows in confusion.

Arianna laughs and shakes her head.  “No, that was just for the fight last night.  I’m talking about all the other shit you’ve put me through since we met.”

“Oh,” Harry says, chuckling slightly.  “I have an awful lot to apologize for, don’t I?”

“Yes, you do.”

“I’m not very good at apologizing.”

“I don’t care.”

“I don’t even know if I can remember all of the things I should be apologizing for,” he says, resting his head against his hand.

“Stop trying to make excuses.  I’m not letting you get out of this without saying sorry to me,” Arianna replies, swatting his arm.

“Sorry?” he offers, smiling crookedly at her and shrugging slightly.

A small giggle bursts unwillingly through her lips.  She raises her hand to cover her mouth, silencing the loud sound.  A smile appears on Harry’s face and a tiny giggle slips through his lips as well.  Arianna tries her hardest to ignore him and return to her original mission.

“You need to be more sincere than that,” she says, making his smile grow wider.

“Where should I start?”

“Are you serious?”

“No,” he laughs.

Irritation fills her as she watches the dimples form in his cheeks.  She wants him to take this seriously and stop joking around.  He has done unspeakable things to her and she refuses to even consider forgiving him until he makes up for them.

“You’re getting angry again.”

“Yeah, I am, Harry,” she spats, sitting up on the bed.

“I’m sorry, okay.  I’m sorry I’m such a dickhead and I’m sorry that I brought you here.  If I would have known what was going to happen, I would have never taken you,” he apologizes, grabbing onto her arm to stop her from getting off of the bed.

“Would you have told me about this place?”

“No.”

“Why not?” she asks, her patience slowly dwindling again.

“Because no one can know about this place.  If I would have told you, I would have had to bring you here.  I couldn’t have trusted you to not tell anyone,” he answers, his face turning defensive.

“Is that why you took me?  Because you thought I would tell the cops where you crashed your car?” she questions, watching his face harden further.

“I couldn’t trust you then,” he answers, dropping her arm.

She watches him pull his hand back against his body and his eyes fall down to look at the mattress.  The anger seeps out of him but she can tell that he is still on edge.  She opens her mouth to say something but pauses, changing her mind.

“Apologize for when you kissed me,” she demands, changing the subject before he has a chance to become angry again.

“I’m sorry for kissing you when I brought you here and all the other times after that,” he says, finally looking back up at her.

“Not all the times.  Just the first two,” she adds, giving him a small smile.

He returns it, reaching out his hand and cupping her cheek in the palm of it.  She leans into it, being blinded for a moment.  Then she blinks her eyes and falls out of his spell.

“Xenia,” she states, causing a dumbfounded look to appear on his face.

“She’s in her room,” he defends, dropping his hand from her cheek.

“She wasn’t,” Arianna reminds him, raising her eyebrows.

“She is now.”

“What did you do to her?”

“Nothing.  We talked, that was it,” he answers, easily recalling the night when he sat outside her door before passing out from the alcohol he had consumed.

“I don’t know if I can believe you.”

“What did I say before about trusting me?”

Arianna sighs and brushes her hair out of her face, focusing her attention on the headboard of the bed.  She wants to trust him, more than anything, but he is her captor and he has done things to her that make it difficult to believe anything he says. 

“Why are you keeping her?” Arianna asks, ignoring his previous statement.

“I’ve already told you.  I can’t let anyone go after they know about this place because they’ll tell the cops on me,” he answers.

Arianna bites down on her lip.  “Not even me?”

“I’m sorry,” he sighs out for the third time this morning.

Arianna bites harder on her lip, forcing the disappointed tears that are collecting in her eyes to stay put.  Her vision becomes distorted as she looks at him and she diverts her gaze to the mattress.  She lets out a shuddering sigh and forces herself to look back up at him.  His bright green eyes stop on hers, full of pity and a hint of regret.

“I’m sorry,” he repeats, watching as she lays down on her back, folding her arms behind her head and looking up at the ceiling.

“Okay,” she says, her lip quivering slightly.

Harry looks down at her as she closes her eyes and releases another shaky sigh.  A torn sensation consumes him as they are immersed in a thick silence.  He wants to let her go.  If it wasn’t for the fear of being caught and losing her, he would do it.  Even though she seems harmless, it doesn’t mean she wouldn’t change her ways as soon as she was free.

He remembers when she escaped and the terror he felt at the thought of never seeing her again.  If he let her go, she would never come back to him.  She would run as far away as she could.  He knows that there is nothing here for them.  No relationship, no future.  He’s tainted everything they could have had by capturing her.

“If you’re going to keep Xenia, can she at least stay in the same cell as me?” Arianna asks, glancing over at him but remaining on her back.

“And why should I allow that?” he questions, raising his eyebrows.

“Because you like me,” Arianna insists, smiling innocently at him, her previous sadness gone.

“No.  I mean, why should I do that for her and no one else?”

“Because she’s scared, Harry.  She needs to know that someone is there.  And you treat me differently.  Why does it only have to be me that you do nice things for?”

“What about the bed arrangement?” Harry asks, dodging her question.

“She can share with me.  The bed is big enough.  Or we can take turns sleeping.  Please,” she begs, pouting her bottom lip out.

“Fine,” Harry sighs, falling onto his back on the bed and staring at the ceiling.

A satisfactory smile spreads on Arianna’s lips and she rolls onto her back again.  She watches the side of his face, examining his long nose and pink lips that curve into a smile when he catches her staring at him out of the corner of his eye.  He turns his head to face her and raises his thumb, tracing it over her cheekbone.  His light touch sparks a feeling of comfort in Arianna and she smiles, lifting her hand to gently place it on top of Harry’s.  His finger stops its movements and he looks back up at the ceiling. 

Arianna does the same, bending her legs at the knees and placing her other hand on her stomach.  Harry’s hand moves slightly but doesn’t drop from under hers.  She tries to smile but it falters.  It’s so hard to move on and just ignore everything he has done to her.  She doesn’t know if he is even done being cruel to her.  Tomorrow, he could be back to his normal self.  Nothing is ever certain when it comes to Harry.

“I’ll try to forgive you,” she whispers, turning to face him.

The sight of his chest rising and falling with each breath and the sound of the quiet snores coming from his lips make her feel at ease.  She was almost afraid that the words would pull them into yet another fight.  The peaceful look on his face is a much better alternative to the harsh words he always throws at her. 

She sighs and carefully sits up on the bed, letting his hand drop down into her lap.  He sleepily pulls it away and lays it on the mattress beside her.  The innocent look on his face as he sleeps makes her want to bend over and kiss his forehead but she doesn’t.  Instead, she pulls her eyes away from him and tucks her knees up to her chest, resting her chin down on top of them.  She doesn’t know what she is going to do.


	23. 22.

The hot sun pours down onto the back of Harry’s neck as he takes a seat on the porch swing, holding two white cigarettes in between his fingers.  The lighter that goes along with them is clutched in Arianna’s fist as she sits down next to him.  She looks out across the yard and tucks her hair behind her ear, sighing happily.  The grass is greener than the last time she was outside, signalling that spring has finally begun.

Harry nudges her and she glances over at him.  He hands her one of the cigarettes and she lights it before also igniting the tip of the one in his hand.  She brings the cigarette to her lips and crosses her legs, leaning her elbow on her knee.  She waves the hand with the cigarette in the air and smiles at Harry.

“You remembered,” she says, lifting the cigarette up.

“I did,” Harry replies, blowing thick smoke between his lips.

“Simeon thought you didn’t,” Arianna adds, setting the lighter down on the armrest.  “But I knew you did.”

“Simeon can be clueless at times.  He’s good at what he does, though.”

Arianna has always wondered what the story is behind Simeon joining Harry on his mission to abduct as many girls as possible.  She would ask but she’s asked before and both Harry and Simeon refused to elaborate on their answers.  It just seems absurd to her why a nice man like Simeon would want to do something like this with his life.

She holds back her question once again and turns to face Harry.  “How is he?” she asks.

“Why are you asking?” he counters, stopping in the action of bringing the cigarette to his mouth.

“Because the last time I saw him he was covered in cuts and bruises.  Ones that I watched you cause.  So, you owe me an answer.  Besides, he’s my friend.”

“Your friend?” Harry scoffs, nearly blowing smoke into her face.

“Yeah.”

“He’s not your friend.”

“Yes, he is.  He helped me escape and he let me confide in him.  That’s what friends do,” she huffs, taking another cloud of smoke into her lungs.

“He’s not your friend,” Harry repeats, not meeting her eyes as he stares out across the yard.

“Fine, Harry.  Have it your way then.  After all, if you can’t have relationships, no one can,” she spats, causing him to visibly stiffen.  She looks away from him, avoiding his upset gaze that quickly turns to her.  She takes another long drag of the cigarette, sucking in until she can’t breathe anymore.  She holds the smoke inside of her for a moment, letting it calm her, before she releases it in a large puff all around them.

She doesn’t know why Harry always insists on being the one that’s right in the situation.  Even when it’s over something stupid like the conversation they just had.  She looks out onto the driveway and sighs deeply.

“At least tell me if he’s alright,” she says, gaining the courage to look in his direction again.  His eyes stare angrily into hers and she feels herself shrink slightly under his intense gaze.

“Will you just drop it already?” he snaps, clenching his fists in his lap.

“Okay.  I didn’t mean to start a fight,” she says irritably and directs her eyes to the lawn once more.

Something clicks in Harry’s head and he takes a deep breath, placing his head in his hands.  “I didn’t mean to participate in it,” he sighs, peeking at her through his fingers.

“And he’s fine,” he adds after a moment of silence.  “His face is healing up and the swelling has gone down.”

“Thank you,” Arianna replies quietly, uncrossing her legs.

“He’ll be better just in time for tonight,” Harry says, making Arianna’s head snap up and look at him questioningly.

“Tonight?”

“Yeah.  We’re going on a bit of a heist tonight with a group of guys.  I probably shouldn’t be telling you this but I am,” he explains, rubbing the tip of the cigarette on the swing to put it out.

“Is it illegal, what you’re doing?”

“Yep,” he answers, standing up from the swing and walking over to lean on the railing of the porch.

“Oh.”

Harry notices how she sounds almost disappointed.  He doesn’t want to disappoint her again.  If she cries again, he won’t be able to take it.  He bites down on his lip as an idea enters his head.

“Come with me,” he says, turning to face her again.

“What?” she asks, her jaw dropping.

“Come with me,” he repeats, taking a few steps towards her.

“You said it will be just guys there.  I’ll feel out of place.  Besides, I don’t want to be involved in any of your criminal activities.”

“You won’t be the only girl.  There will be plenty at the party.  And you won’t be participating.  I just want to bring you along because I want you with me,” he explains, sitting down beside her on the swing and placing his hand on her knee.

The words make her melt.  He wants her with him.  She looks down at the cigarette that is forgotten in her hand and she bites down on the inside of her cheek.  She can’t let herself fall back into his trap so easily.  No matter how badly she wants to.

“I don’t know, Harry.  I still don’t know any of them.  I probably won’t even have anything in common with these girls.  I don’t want to feel awkward the whole night,” she says, her eyes meeting his concernedly.

“Trust me, you’ll have lots in common with them,” he reassures her.

“What do you mean?”

“The leader of our group, Pierce runs a similar business to me.  He has a few girls, just like you.  And I can guarantee he will bring them along.”

“Wait.  He abducts girls, too?  That’s why you’re friends with him?” she asks, her jaw dropping.

“Friends is a very loose term when it comes to Pierce,” Harry answers, grimacing.

“I can’t believe this,” she says, shaking her head and continuing to look at him in disbelief.

“Really?”

She looks at him with shock written into her features and she sighs, taking a final drag from her cigarette and tossing it onto the porch.  She steps onto it, grinding it into the wood with her shoe.  She can sense Harry looking at her with feigning hope on his face but she doesn’t remove her eyes from tops of the trees ahead of her.  When are the surprises going to end?  It’s almost as if he does this on purpose.  He waits until they are getting along and having a good time to reveal some secret about his life.  It’s tiresome for Arianna who only wants to forgive him for the things he has done.  How is she supposed to forgive him when everyday he adds a new problem onto the ever growing list?

“You’re still coming though, right?” he asks, breaking through her thoughts.

She sighs and runs her hands through her hair.  “I mean, I don’t know.  Let me wrap my head around this, Harry.”

“He’s not that bad.  A little on the creepy side but he treats them right.  He’s like me,” he explains, trying to convince her the opposite of the truth.

“Don’t remind me,” she says, pursing her lips together and looking at him with exhausted eyes.

“Why do you not like my dark, mysterious side?” he asks playfully, a smirk pulling his lips up.

“Do you ever take things seriously?”

“Rarely,” he answers, gently kicking her foot.  She shoots him a look and his smile drops from his face.  “I want to take this seriously.”

“Then stop acting like a child!”

“Look, I didn’t mean it.  It was just a joke.  Lighten up a bit.”

“I’m allowed to be upset with you,” she snaps, looking away from him.

“We could always kiss and make up.”

“Harry!” she exclaims, her eyes widening and a slight smile appearing on her lips.

“Just saying.”

A laugh bursts through Arianna’s lips causing a smile to appear on Harry’s face.  She throws her head into her hands and continues to giggle.  Harry chuckles along with her, feeling his heart stutter when her eyes flicker onto his.  Her smile is wide and contagious.  He hasn’t seen her smile like this before.  The smile on his own lips grows until it hurts and he has to look away, rubbing the end of his nose.

“I’ll come,” she says, another smile appearing when Harry looks at her.  “Only if you agree to be nice to me.”

A smile overtakes Harry’s face and he leans forward, pressing his lips firmly onto hers.  The kiss takes her by surprise but her hands still automatically dig into his hair, pulling him closer. 

“We better go get ready,” Harry whispers, breaking away from her.  She smiles as his nose brushes against hers and nods her head.

 

 

 **Arianna looks up and down at her reflection in the mirror.** Her long legs are bare, beginning with a black pair of high-waisted shorts and ending in black pumps.  Her lightly curled hair contrasts strikingly against her white, pleated top and eyes.  She tousles her fingers through her hair and grimaces at her reflection.  It’s been a long time since she’s tried to look this nice.

She walks over to the bathroom counter and grabs her small makeup bag in her hand.  She digs through the contents, spilling some items onto the marble countertop.  Harry’s bathroom is so much nicer than any that she’s been in before.  The dark walls contrast against the grey tiles under her feet, making the space feel comfortable despite the neutral colors.  A large shower sits in the corner and the double vanity in front of her is spotless except for the clutter of her makeup and hair styling tools.

Her shoes click on the tile as she steps closer to the counter, leaning towards the mirror and applying mascara to her long eyelashes.  The night ahead of her is starting to make her feel nervous as she steps back to study her appearance.  This is the first time in a long time that she will be away from this house and meeting new people.  She can’t help but let the ideas about what it will be like run through her head, driving her crazy.  But not as crazy as the idea of Harry trusting her enough to let her come with him.

Just the idea of Harry’s trust makes her want to question everything.  After all, when has he ever been this nice to her before?  Even when he lets her sleep in the bedroom and sit out on the front porch, it’s nothing compared to this.  He’s actually allowing her to leave the property.  That is something she never expected, especially after what he had told her only a few days previously about never setting her free.  She had thought that was it.  She was going to be trapped here forever.  This is more than she could have ever asked for.

She pops the lid off of the red lipstick in her hand and carefully applies it to her pouted lips.  A knock on the door breaks her from her concentration.  She lowers the tube and turns towards the door.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me,” Harry answers, “Are you done yet?”

Arianna chuckles and sweeps the lipstick over her lips again.  “It takes time to look nice, believe it or not.”

She snaps the lid back on the tube and sets it down on the counter just as the door swings open.  Harry waltzes through it, his hair is pushed back over his forehead and he’s wearing a black button-up shirt and black skinny jeans.  The all black outfit sends a wave of desire crashing over Arianna.  Harry pauses in the doorway, his eyes sweeping over her and his tongue peeking out to glide over his lips.  His pupils dilate as he takes in her body, taking his time to go twice over her long legs. 

“Do I look okay?” she chuckles, breaking him out of his trance.

“Beautiful,” he gulps, making a smile break out on her face and her stomach flutter.

His eyes lock on her as she walks to him, stretching out her arms and straightening the collar on his shirt.  She rests her hands on his broad shoulders and tilts her head to the side.  Harry lifts his hand and tucks her hair behind her ear before resting it on her cheek and tilting her head upright again.

“We should go.  I don’t want Pierce to be in a more pissy mood then he’ll already be in,” he says, dropping his hand from her face and stepping away from her.

For a moment, she expected him to kiss her, maybe do something even more than that.  However, that moment has combusted into nothing and now she is remembering how irritating Harry can be.  She sighs under her breath and walks back to the counter, shoving her makeup items back into the bag.  She turns back to the doorway to say something to Harry but he is already gone.

She remains quiet as they get into the truck and drive out onto the highway.  Harry senses that something is off but he doesn’t comment on it.  Arianna tries to enjoy the freedom from being out of the house but she struggles to let go of her annoyance towards Harry.

“Do you want me to roll the windows down?” he asks, glancing over at her with one hand on the wheel.

She shakes her head back and forth in response, keeping her eyes fixated on the front window.  Harry sighs and runs his fingers through his hair. 

“What did I do?” he asks, scanning the busy road in front of them. 

The sun is just beginning to set on the horizon, giving off its last hot rays of the day.  Arianna pulls down the flap above her to block the sun from her eyes.

“Nothing,” she spits out, crossing her arms.

“You can’t tell me that this is nothing,” Harry comments, a tiny smirk on his face as he gestures towards her.

Arianna rolls her eyes and snaps her head in his direction.  She is about to spit insulting words at him but she stops herself.  She turns away from him and looks out her window, her eyes observing a small suburban community as they drive past it.

“Alright then,” Harry says, his eyebrows arching as he puts his attention back to the road.

Without asking for permission, Arianna reaches over and turns the radio on.  A rock song plays quietly through the speakers so she flips through the stations until she lands on a familiar alternative song.  The music fills the tense silence and Harry finds himself blowing strained air out from his lips.  His eyes follow the road as he turns off onto a street with industrial buildings on both sides of it.

His phone buzzes twice where it sits on the console between them and Harry reaches for it.  His hand freezes when he sees the look Arianna is giving him. 

“What?  It’s probably just Pierce.”

“Don’t you remember what happened last time you were on the phone while you were driving?” Arianna says, watching as his hand grasps the steering wheel again.

Harry presses his foot on the brake and they come to a stop at a red light.  He easily recalls that night.  It was the night they first met.  It was also the night he captured her.

“I remember,” he says, scanning the intersection in front of them.

“Then please don’t do it again.”

“Alright.  I’ll abide by the driving laws from now on if it pleases you,” Harry sighs, turning to look at her.

“Thank you,” she mumbles, biting her lip as she looks at him.

A horn blares from behind them and they both snap their heads forward.  The light is green in front of them and Harry glances in the rear-view mirror before stepping on the gas.

“Oh, fuck off,” he mutters, turning to the left and travelling down the road. 

They continue turning onto different roads until the buildings begin to thin out and green fields take their place.  Harry rolls his window down, letting his curls flutter around his face.  The fresh air mixes with the smell of his cologne and Arianna inhales deeply, closing her eyes.

“Did you know I got arrested that night?” she asks, glancing at him.

“Arrested?”

“Well, not exactly.  They didn’t take me to the station but they did put me in the car and press charges,” she explains as they turn onto a short dirt road.

“Charges for what?  What did you do?” Harry asks, slowing down the car so he can look directly at her.

“I was vandalizing the dam.  With spray paint,” she confesses, making him crack a smile.

“An innocent crime.  Doesn’t even count in my opinion,” Harry smirks, pulling up behind a small blue car.

“Well, I’m sorry that I’m not a world renowned criminal like you,” she laughs as he turns the ignition off.

“Not yet,” he comments, pushing his door open and grabbing his phone.

Arianna shakes her head and laughs.  In a way, she is glad that he could turn her mood around before they arrived.  She wants to enjoy this night, not spend it being angry.  She opens her door and walks around the front of the truck to meet Harry.  He is checking his phone, his eyes snapping up when she stops in front of him.

A cool breeze blows up from the wide lake that is sitting behind the house.  The sun is just peeking over the horizon and the sky around them is dark, dotted with small stars.  The moon casts light down on them and brightens the path to the backyard.  Music pumps through the air, shaking the ground slightly at their feet.

“Alright.  Let’s go over some ground rules,” Harry says as they walk between the parked cars and towards the lake house.  Arianna nods her head, silently looking up at him.

“First, don’t stray from my sight, under any conditions.  I’ll let you know when I am leaving with Pierce and will make arrangements for you until I return.  Second, don’t ask questions about the heist to anyone but me.  You have to remember that you’re not supposed to know about it.  I could be in some deep shit if they find out I told you.  And third, stay away from Pierce.”

“Okay…” she says, avoiding asking any follow up questions when he gives her a stern look.

They reach the end of the path and turn a corner, stepping onto a large yard filled with people.  Harry places a hand on Arianna’s back and guides her into the crowd.  The ground is littered with items already and several people are stumbling around. 

A boat engine starts up on the lake and they both turn to see what is going on.  A few men are standing on the boat and a group of people are gathered on the shore, watching them. 

“Styles!” a man’s voice exclaims, causing Arianna to spin around and search for the voice.

Her eyes fall onto a man with shaved, black hair and intense eyes.  Harry stiffens slightly as Pierce approaches them and his hand drops from Arianna’s back.

He pauses in front of them and his eyes land on Arianna.  “Who’s this?”


	24. 23.

Harry feels his insides tighten as Pierce smiles at Arianna.  “It doesn’t matter.  She’s off limits,” he growls, stepping up to stand beside her.

“She’s one of your girls?” Pierce asks, raising his pierced eyebrows.

Harry nods curtly and begins walking.  He grabs Arianna by the wrist and drags her past Pierce.

“Where are you going?” he asks, beginning to follow them.

“I need a drink,” Harry answers over his shoulder.

Pierce shrugs and remains where he is standing as Harry walks briskly towards a long white table at the edge of the yard.  There are small lights strung up between the trees, illuminating the assortment of drinks and scattered food.

Harry turns to Arianna as she comes to a stop beside him.  “What do you want?”

“I’m allowed to drink?” she asks, her eyes widening.

“Yeah,” Harry chuckles, grabbing a beer for himself.  “So?”

Arianna’s eyes scan the drinks and she sucks her bottom lip between her teeth.  Nothing on the table looks familiar to her, not that she drinks often.  The only time she could get her hands on alcohol was when Teagan stole some from her parents.  Even at parties, she hardly ever drank.

“I don’t know what’s good,” she admits, shrugging.

“Well, what do you usually drink?”

“Tequila sunrises,” she answers, making Harry laugh.

“Of course you do.”

“What’s wrong with tequila sunrises?”

“It’s a girly drink.”

“Well, I am a girl.”

“You are,” Harry smiles, reaching for another beer.  He lifts up it and offers it to her.  She scrunches her nose and he chuckles before placing it back.

She steps up closer to the table and places her hands on the edge of it.  Her eyes fall onto a large bottle filled with dark brown liquor.  “What about that one?”

Harry follows her gaze and scoffs before picking up the bottle.  “Bourbon?” he says, raising his eyebrows.

“Yeah.”

“You won’t drink beer but you go straight for the bottle of bourbon?”

“Yeah,” she repeats, laughing.

“Makes no sense but whatever,” he says, grabbing a white cup from the carefully stacked pile and pouring a small amount into the bottom.  “It’s your liver.”

She ignores his comment and brings the cup to her lips, throwing her head back and downing the mouthful.  She shivers as it slips down her throat.  The strong, bitter taste feels like fire on her stomach and she grimaces, looking at Harry.

Harry laughs at her expression and begins twisting the cap back onto the bottle.

“More,” she demands, holding out the glass to him.

He gives her a look of disapproval but pours it anyways, filling her cup half full.  She smiles at him and he rolls his eyes, setting the bottle back on the table.  He twists the cap off of his beer and takes a short drink, his eyes scanning the yard.

He recognizes a lot of the people in the crowd but he doesn’t wish to converse with any of them.  He feels Arianna’s hand touch his elbow and he glances down at her and then over at the lake.

“Let’s go over there,” he says, gesturing to a spot near the water where there is no one standing.

Arianna takes another sip from her cup, the burning sensation lessened slightly from the first time.  She follows Harry down the gradual hill to the water.  One of the men in the boat is yelling, his words slurred and incoherent from where they are standing.  A few people around them laugh and hoot and Arianna watches as the man tosses his beer into the lake.  It cascades through the air and lands with a splash a few meters away.

The breeze from the lake blows her hair out of her face and sends the leaves on the trees rustling.  They stop at the water’s edge and stand looking out at the dark water.  Harry takes another drink from his beer before setting it down on a log and lowering himself down beside it.  Arianna remains where she is standing and looks down at him.

“Are you nervous?” she asks, watching as he runs his hands through his hair.

“No.  I just wish we could get it over with already.  I hate coming to these parties.”

“Why are you here anyways?  Shouldn’t you guys have met somewhere more private than this?”

“No.  A party at the lake house is our usual meeting place.  It’s convenient for everyone and it’s a good place to blend in.  It doesn’t make us look suspicious like we would if we met in a garage or something,” Harry explains, shrugging at her.

Arianna nods and takes another sip of her drink, trying to gain bravery to ask the questions she is always so afraid to ask.  Harry looks up at her and sighs, pushing his legs outwards and stretching them in front of him.  His heels sink into the soft sand and his fingers reach out to brush away some dirt on his pants.

“Can I ask you what the heist is for?”

The question make his eyes shoot up to her face.  Even in the dim lighting, she can tell by his face that he is switching into his guarded mode.  A frown forms on his face and he stares at the ground, avoiding her curious gaze.

“I only want to know why, Harry?  Why do you do these things?”

Harry takes a deep breath and reaches for his beer.  His fingers grasp around the neck of it and he is about to take a drink when he changes his mind and sets it on the ground at his feet. 

“There’s this greenhouse on the other side of the city that we’ve had our eyes on for the past couple months.  Pierce’s sister works there as an insider for us.  She’s been scoping it out and bringing findings back to her brother about her co-workers and the jobs they do inside.  We’re going in there tonight to loot it,” Harry answers, causally checking over his shoulder to make sure no one is listening.

“You’re breaking in?”

“Yeah.  Pierce is led to believe that there is a shitload of weed being kept inside.”

“Why are you helping him?” Arianna questions, turning her cup in her hand.

“I don’t have a choice,” Harry plainly states, staring at the ground beside her.

“You always have a choice, Harry,” Arianna says, trying to meet his eyes.  When he ignores her, she sighs quietly and walks over to sit down beside him.  “Why do you hang out with him anyways?  It doesn’t seem like you like him very much.”

“I’ve known him for a long time, by association.”

“Then stop knowing him.”

“It’s not that simple,” he mutters, bringing his beer up to his lips and drinking for a long time.

Arianna watches him, pity washing out her features.  “Tell me,” she whispers, lifting her hand and grasping his arm to lower the bottle from his mouth.

“I wish I could,” he replies but Arianna isn’t convinced.

She is about to argue with him when he stands up abruptly and begins walking back towards the party.  Arianna watches him speechless before she stands and follows him.  What is he hiding from her now?  The curiosity and Harry’s first rule keeps her on his heels all the way to the table with the drinks on it.

He sets his empty bottle down and grabs another, opening it and bringing it to his lips.  Arianna sighs impatiently and reaches for the bottle of bourbon, filling her cup to the rim.  Harry pauses his drinking and tries to snatch the cup from her but she pulls it against her body.

“If you can drink more, so can I,” she counters, bringing the cup to her lips. 

She takes a longer drink than last time, adding more fuel to the flames already combusting in her stomach.  Her heart is pattering faster against her chest and she can feel her face flushing, signalling that the alcohol is kicking in. 

Her eyes travel amongst the people behind them, taking in the groups of men standing around.  It’s almost as if they are based on how sober they are.  She tests her theory by looking at a group by the house who are obviously belligerent, leaning against each other and spilling drinks from their cups as they talk excitedly.  Another group nearby are talking causally with drinks in their hands but none of them appear the slightest bit inebriated.

Although Harry had mentioned that there would be girls here, she has yet to spot a single one.  A part of her begins to wonder if he only said that to help convince her to come.  Her eyes dart back to his face, questioning his motives inside of her head.  Would he really go as far as lying even with everything else going on?  She bites her lip and groans internally.  Unfortunately, she doesn’t have enough faith in him to not doubt him a little bit.

She takes another sip of her drink, surprised that Harry hasn’t made any further remarks to try and stretch their small tiff.  The silence is welcoming, however, and Arianna finds herself humming quietly along to the song that is playing. 

A few people approach the table, grabbing drinks and heading off again.  Harry watches each of them go, nonchalantly drinking from his bottle and stealing glances at Arianna.  The detached look in his eyes keeps her from trying to engage in him conversation.

Just as boredom is beginning to set in, a familiar face makes its way through the crowd.  A smile spreads on Arianna’s face as Simeon approaches them.  Harry turns to see why she is smiling and rolls his eyes when he spots Simeon returning her smile.

“I never expected to see you here,” Simeon gushes, gesturing to Arianna and then giving Harry a confused look.

“Harry wanted me here,” she replies before she can stop herself.  The look of disbelief that Harry gives her makes her flinch and divert her gaze to the ground.

“I had to bring her with me.  She was causing shit.  I had no choice,” Harry lies, his voice tense.

“I see,” Simeon says, smiling warmly at the two of them.

“There’s nothing to see,” Harry snaps, making Arianna roll her eyes and Simeon smile wider.

“So, how are you, Simeon?  It’s been a while since I’ve seen you,” she asks, ignoring the exasperated sigh Harry gives her.

“I’m better than usual,” he answers, grabbing his phone out of his back pocket when it chimes.  He checks the text message quickly before shutting off his phone. 

“That’s good,” Arianna smiles, sipping from her cup.  She glances down at it, surprised to see that it is nearly empty.  “Are you ready for tonight?”

Harry stiffens next to her.  “Hey!” he snaps, giving her a murderous glare.

“What?  It’s just Simeon.  He’s already in on it, anyway,” she brushes him off, feeling slightly dizzy as she turns to look at Simeon.

“That’s not the point.  I told you not to ask anyone about the heist except for me.  You’re specifically defying me and I’m not going to fucking have it,” he growls, stepping closer to her.

She can feel him breathing down the side of her neck and goosebumps rise on her skin.  “Well, you don’t have much of a choice.  You’re the one who brought me along.  Now you’re stuck with me,” she retaliates, the alcohol allowing her to say things she usually wouldn’t when Harry is so angry.

“For now,” he spits, backing away from her. 

He tilts his head back and finishes the rest of the beer in his bottle.  Then he tosses the empty bottle onto the ground and scans the table for something more potent.  When he comes up empty, he turns the cooler on the ground and flips the lid open.  He snatches a small bottle of vodka and lets the cooler fall closed.

“You probably shouldn’t drink so much.  Pierce will want us sober for later,” Simeon warns him.

Harry slams the bottle down on the table, making Arianna shriek in response.  “Mind your own fucking business,” he growls, turning to face Simeon.

“I’m just warning you.  I don’t want you to get into more trouble with him,” Simeon says, causing Harry’s nostrils to flare.  Before he can argue back, Arianna steps in between them.

“Harry,” she says quietly, placing her hands on his heaving chest.  “Just calm down.”

His eyes lock on her face, brimming with hostility.  She keeps her face composed, even though on the inside she wants to scream at him for trying to initiate a fight with Simeon again.  His eyes harden, the usual bright green darkening a few shades.  He spins on his heel and Arianna reaches out for him helplessly. 

“I’m not going to calm down!” he roars, grabbing the bottle of vodka and flinging it over the table.  It hits a nearby tree and smashes into large shards of glass, the drink spilling onto the grass.

Arianna gasps, covering her mouth with her hands as he storms over to the table.  He grabs two beer bottles and smashes them as well.  The ground collects glass as he continues to throw more bottles while Arianna and Simeon stand there motionless.  The side of the tree glistens in the bright lights hanging from it, the mixture of alcohol dripping down to the ground.

Harry picks up the bottle of bourbon but stops when a voice breaks through the air.  “Not the expensive bottle.”

He loosens his grip on the neck of the bottle, his shoulders slumping slightly as he turns and faces Pierce.  He is standing next to Arianna with a crooked smile on his lips.  Harry tenses at the sight of him standing so close to her but he doesn’t comment on it.

“You wouldn’t miss it anyway,” Harry says after a moment, a smirk falling onto his lips.

Pierce chuckles and steps towards him, reaching out his hand and patting him on the back.  He turns and faces Arianna and Simeon.  They both stare at them silently, watching the exchange take place.

“You know me too well, my friend,” Pierce says, smiling at Harry.

Arianna feels out of place as she watches them interact.  The way that Pierce was able to calm Harry almost instantly is something she has never witnessed before.  She had expected him to start a fight with Pierce when he appeared beside her.  She did not expect him to be joking and laughing with him a few seconds later.  This is a side of him she has never seen before.


	25. 24.

Arianna continues to look back and forth between Harry and Pierce as they talk quietly among each other.  She tries to meet Harry’s eyes but he acts as if he doesn’t know her.  The fact makes her angry but she remains silent, hoping that he will acknowledge her soon.

She lifts her cup to her lips, finishing the last couple mouthfuls.  She lowers the cup and averts her eyes to the bottle still clutched in Harry’s hand.  She knows that now is not the time to be asking for more alcohol but she wants it badly.

“Do you want to head inside?” Simeon asks, pulling her attention away from the bottle.

“I can’t,” she answers, looking up at him.  “Harry told me to not leave his side until you guys leave.”

“Oh.  Sorry.  I just thought that after that episode you might want to step away from him for a minute.”

“No, it’s fine.  He’s not angry anymore anyways,” she says quietly, turning back to look at Harry.

He’s still chatting with Pierce, a smile appears on his face that makes his dimples indent in his cheeks.  Their eyes are pointed towards the house and their voices are too low for Arianna to hear what they are talking about.

“You shouldn’t be afraid to be afraid of him,” Simeon whispers into her ear, leaning forward so that she can hear him over the pumping music.

Arianna lets the words sink in as she watches Harry’s head fall back in laughter.  Is she really afraid of being afraid of him?  The idea makes sense in a strange way.  She feels like every time he does something that should terrify her, she is scared but after the moment blows over, she acts like it never happened.  When he captured her, she was petrified.  Once she learned what he was like, she stopped being so scared. 

“I guess I’m just becoming numb to the horror,” she replies, kicking the toe of her shoe against the grass.

“Or numb to him?”

When Arianna bites her lip in response, Simeon sighs and steps in front of her.  She tries to glance around him, panicking now that her access to Harry is blocked by his tall figure.  Her eyes travel up from his black leather vest to his face.  The concerned expression that overtakes his usually gentle, brown eyes makes her feel even more uncomfortable.

“Don’t you remember when you came to me crying about how he was going to hurt you?  That was only a few weeks ago, Arianna.  What changed between now and then?  Because it sure wasn’t him.”

Arianna holds her breath.  She doesn’t want to defend Harry.  She knows that he hasn’t changed and she knows that he doesn’t deserve her defense.  But she can’t stop the slight pang of anger she feels towards Simeon over his words.  He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.  He hasn’t witnessed the shift in position between the two of them in the past couple days.  He hasn’t noticed how their continents are slowly joining across the violently churning ocean.

“I don’t mean to upset you.  I’m your friend and I feel like it’s my job to try to protect you from him.  He will hurt you, in more ways than one.  It’s what he does.  No one knows that better than me,” he continues as her empty grey eyes look up at him.

“I’m trying to know him, Simeon,” she says, lifting her lips into a half smile.  “And if he hurts me, he hurts me.  I won’t blame anyone but myself for that because I know what I want and what I’m asking for.  Thank you for worrying about me, though.”

“I just don’t want him to do what he always does.  He-”

“Sorry to break up your heart to heart but it’s time to go,” Pierce interrupts, appearing a few feet behind Simeon.

Arianna’s eyes flash to Harry and he stares at her with a nervous look on his face.  She turns back to Simeon, wishing that he could finish what he was about to say.  The unsaid words are still captured on his face as he looks at her.  She turns away from him and back to Harry.  He motions for her to approach him.  She can feel Pierce’s eyes trained on her as she moves and she tries to ignore the uncomfortable feeling that consumes her.

She walks towards him, trying to clear her mind of the endless possibilities to the end of that sentence.  What does he usually do?  Was he referring to how he is intimate with all of the other girls?  If he was, she is already aware of that.  It’s the thought that she could be wrong that is making her feel uneasy.

“Are you alright?” he asks as she comes to a stop in front of him. 

She tries to wipe the worried look off of her face.  “Fine,” she answers, forcing a small smile.

“What were you two talking about?” he asks, glancing at Simeon.

“What were you two talking about?” she reiterates, pointing at Pierce who is now having a light discussion with Simeon.

Harry chuckles and wraps an arm around Arianna’s shoulders, squeezing her arm lightly.  The gesture is comforting but tainted with the irritation towards him for not answering her question.  He guides her towards the house, his arm sliding farther over her as their bodies touch.  The sweet scent of his cologne makes Arianna sigh.  It’s one of her favorite smells, not too sweet but not too strong at the same time. 

“I want you to behave while I’m gone,” Harry says, as they step onto a narrow stone path that leads up to the porch of the house.

“When do I not?” she smiles, poking him gently in the chest.

“I’m serious.  Don’t do anything you wouldn’t do if I was here.  In fact, just pretend that I’m breathing over your shoulder the entire time.  That way you won’t be tempted.”

Arianna shoots him a look and shakes her head.  “I’ll just sit in one place and won’t say a word to anybody until you get back,” she replies sarcastically, lifting her feet as they climb up the stairs to the porch.

They walk through a small crowd of people, the music growing unbearably loud as they pass the large speakers that are placed along the wall.  The house is large but not extremely extravagant.  The outer walls are made out of dark boards of wood and there is a set of French doors leading onto the porch.  The basement is raised above the ground, otherwise there is only one story.

“You can talk to people.  Don’t be ridiculous.  Just talk to the right people and you won’t cause any trouble,” Harry mutters as they step inside of the house.

The doors close behind them, muffling the sound of the music.  “And I’m the ridiculous one,” she comments, rolling her eyes.

Harry remains silent as they walk across the large living room.  There are fewer people inside than outside.  The long couches that are placed around the large screen television perched on the wall are scattered with men and one girl.

Arianna examines her as Harry pauses in the middle of the room, next to a tall bookshelf.  He pulls out his phone and begins texting someone.  The girl has long blond hair and tan skin.  Her face scrunches into a large smile as one of the men whispers something in her ear.  She tucks her hair behind her ear and sets her hands down on top of her short, tight fitting, white dress.

She is beautiful in a plastic kind of way.  Her curves are minimal and her long legs are perfectly shaped and thin.  Her blond hair and smile remind her of Xenia for a moment.  Then she shakes her head, internally disagreeing with herself.  Xenia is much better looking than this girl.  Xenia has unique features, this girl is just unoriginal, like a Barbie doll almost.

She glances at Harry who is still paying attention to his phone screen and sighs.  She hopes that all the girls she will see tonight aren’t going to be so basic.

“Come on,” Harry says, gesturing for her to follow him as he begins walking into the adjoining room.

They enter the huge kitchen and Arianna’s jaw struggles not to drop.  The dark woods blend in with neutrally colored countertops and appliances.  She was expecting to see a completely modern room but the touches of intact cabin make the room feel so much more comfortable.

“There he is,” Harry mumbles to himself, tucking his phone back into his pocket.

Arianna’s eyes search the people in the room, wondering who Harry is referring to.  His gaze is on a few men leaning against the counter in the far corner of the room.  As they approach them, she recognizes one of the faces in the group.

Harry clears his throat loudly when they stop at the opposite side of the counter.  Nitro glances over his shoulder along with the three other men standing with him.

“Ah, found you,” he greets, smiling at Harry.  He turns around and his gaze falls onto Arianna.  “Long time no see,” he says to her.

“Hi,” she replies, her eyes struggling to stay pointed forward.

Nitro lifts his hands and tucks his hair behind his ears.  It’s shorter than the last time she saw him but still nearly reaches his shoulders.  His dark eyes glimmer in the bright lights hanging above his head but don’t lighten in color at all.

“Can I talk to you a minute?” Harry asks him, his body tensing only like it does when he is about to get angry at someone.

Arianna is about to object when Nitro nods eagerly and follows Harry as he walks out of ear shot.  She watches his body language closely as he converses briefly with Nitro.  His fists don’t clench but his eyes are piercing and his jaw is taut.  He is in defense mode not anger mode.

His eyes snap onto Arianna’s as Nitro walks towards her and they soften slightly.  Nitro chuckles quietly as Harry gives one more longing look in their direction and turns on his heel, hastily walking towards the door.

“He gave me a lecture about you,” Nitro whispers to Arianna, leaning in closer to her and crossing his ankles.

She reflexively leans away from him and drops the entirely forgotten empty cup in her hand onto the floor at her feet.  It clatters and rolls away, her eyes following it.

“Why don’t we get you another drink?” Nitro suggests, smiling at her.

His smile appears friendly but Arianna can’t easily forget the creepy feeling her gave her last time they were alone together.  However, she considers his offer, clicking her tongue against the top of her mouth.  Harry told her not to do anything she wouldn’t do when he was here.  She was drinking when he was here and he wasn’t bothered by it.  In fact, he encouraged it.

“Alright,” she replies, stepping away from the counter.

Nitro smiles and begins leading her towards the living room.  He makes a few remarks about the party but Arianna only nods her head, not paying attention to the words he’s saying.  She can’t help but feel a pang of worry for Harry.  Until now, she hasn’t realized the repercussions he could face if something goes wrong.  What if they get caught?  He could go to jail and she might never see him again.  She bites her lip and looks down to watch her shoes move over the wooden floor boards.  Would it be a good or bad thing if she never had to see him again?

Her thoughts are cut short when Nitro pauses next to one of the couches.  He gestures for her to sit down in the empty seat on the corner cushion.  “Is there anything particular you would like or do you want me to surprise you?” he asks, his eyes pulling away from the young girl that joins them, sitting down on the opposite couch.

“Harry said I shouldn’t be left alone,” Arianna says, placing her hands on the back on the couch and leaning against it.

“I’ll be fast.”

“I don’t know…” she trails off, wondering how Harry would feel if she was left unsupervised, even for a couple minutes.

“I’ll make it a quick minute.  Don’t worry.  It will be like I wasn’t ever gone.”

She sighs loudly, pouting her lips out and tucking her hair behind her ears.  “I guess its fine.”

“Just don’t go running off,” he chuckles and begins walking towards the door.

Arianna laughs quietly and steps around the couch to sit down.  A man is sitting a few feet away from her, facing the two girls on the other couch.  His blond hair is gathered in a tight bun on the back of his head and his arms are sporting several watches and bracelets.  The girl that had joined them is sitting so close to the tanned, blond that she is practically in her lap.  Arianna accidentally meets her big, grey eyes and then quickly diverts her attention to the floor.

“Oh, hello,” the man beside her says, causing her to slowly pull her eyes up to his face.

He has bushy, dark eyebrows that barely match his bleached, blond hair.  She notices his eyes are heavy lidded and a piercing, blue color as they sweep over her face.  His hand raises and strokes over his well-groomed, dark brown beard while he waits for her reply.

“Hi,” Arianna says, wringing her hands together as both of the girl’s eyes fall onto her.  The blond smiles openly but the black-haired, younger one only stares at her with a nervous look on her face.

“I’m Rowan,” the man introduces himself, holding out his hand to her.

Her eyes scan up his arm, examining the multitude of watches and bands.  “Time and I are pretty close friends,” he adds, nodding at the watches.

Arianna smiles slightly and takes his hand, shaking it briefly.  His eyes appeared fierce at first but are now calm and friendly. 

“I’m Arianna,” she says, dropping her hand to her lap.

“This is Jada and …,” Rowan begins, pointing at the blond and then the other girl.  “Sorry, you didn’t ever tell me your name.”

“Sydney,” Jada answers for her, grabbing Sydney’s hand and squeezing it in her lap.

“Yes, Sydney.  These two are sisters from California.  I’ve just had the pleasure of talking to Jada for the past hour.  She has quite a few interesting stories to tell,” Rowan continues, smiling at Jada.

Arianna looks back and forth between the two girls.  She finds it difficult to believe that they are sisters.  They look nothing alike.  However, she dismisses the thought and smiles, nodding her head.

Her eyes travel to the door in search of Nitro as Rowan resumes his previous conversation with Jada.  She is beginning to grow impatient with him when he appears behind the French doors, carrying two cups in one hand and a full bottle in his other.

“You never told me what you wanted so I brought the last of the tequila.  It looks like somebody had some fun throwing the rest of the good drinks around,” Nitro announces, crossing the room quickly to take a seat on the armrest of the couch.

Arianna moves over, leaving a few feet between both Rowan and Nitro on each side of her.  She places her hands in her lap and waits while Nitro pours her drink for her.  He chuckles and hands her the cup.  The tequila sloshes around in it, nearly spilling over the rim and onto the floor.  She quickly brings it to her lips and takes a sip.  The strong alcohol dries her throat, making her spit some back into the cup.

“Harry should be back in an hour.  I guess we’ll hang out here until he returns,” Nitro says, clutching his own full cup in his lap.

“You know Harry?” Rowan asks, his thick eyebrows raising in surprise as he turns to Arianna.

“Yes.  He’s my… friend,” she answers, taking another sip of her drink.  If this is the way this conversation is going to go, she’s going to need more to drink.

“That name sounds familiar,” Jada says, dropping Sydney’s hand.  “How do you know him?”

“Um,” Arianna hums, tightening her grip on her cup.

“He’s friends with Pierce.  Arianna met him at a party a while back.  We’ve all been hanging out together since then,” Nitro answers, smiling at Arianna.

For the first time since she met him, Arianna feels gratitude towards Nitro.  If it wasn’t for him, she would have sounded suspicious no matter what she had said.  She catches Sydney studying her out of the corner of her eye and clears her throat.

“I would have never guessed.  Harry and I go way back to when we were kids.  We actually went to the same college and grew up in the same neighborhood,” Rowan adds, grabbing the tequila and filling up his own empty glass.

“You went to college with him?  I didn’t even know Harry went to college,” Arianna says, her eyes widening.

“Yep.  We studied different subjects but we met at a party through his friend Jacob.  The three of us were pretty close until college ended.  They sort of ditched me and hit the party scene.  Hard.  Jacob and I have reunited since but I only see Harry occasionally at these parties.  He doesn’t usually grace me with more than a couple words,” he finishes, laughing slightly and taking a sip from his drink.

Arianna bites down on her lip and focuses her eyes on the door.  Why has she never heard of these people before?  Even though she hasn’t known Harry for very long, she had thought that she was getting somewhere with the mystery that is his past.  The fact that he left out the part about his two best friends makes her head feel heavy.  She thought that he didn’t have relationships with people.  She had convinced herself to believe that it has always been that way.  She hadn’t prepared herself for the possibility of meeting one of his best friends tonight.

“How long have you two known him?”

“A year,” Nitro says after topping up his drink.

“A couple months,” Arianna replies, staring at the collection of used cups on the coffee table.

A short silence falls over them and Arianna sighs with relief.  She doesn’t know how many more secrets and questions she can handle tonight.  The alcohol is less bitter on her tongue when she tilts her head back and guzzles half of the cup.

Her face scrunches as she looks over at Jada’s smiling face.  The contrast between her white teeth and orange tinted skin is slightly hard on her eyes.  Sydney remains silent as a small conversation picks up between Jada and Nitro.  Arianna can’t stop herself from wondering why she is so quiet.  Then it hits her.  Harry had mentioned that the girls here are like her, captured.

Just as the thought enters her head, Jada opens her mouth, the words falling from it making Arianna’s stomach twirl.  “That’s where I know him from!  Pierce’s campfire the other night.  He’s part of the group.”

Arianna immediately bites on her tongue to keep herself from saying something she will regret.  This girl doesn’t know who Harry is.  She doesn’t know what he’s done to Arianna.  She just recognizes Harry’s name from the other night.  There is nothing for her to worry about.

“Makes sense,” Nitro replies, nodding his head a few times before running his hands through his hair.

Arianna takes another long drink to try and steady her nerves.  The alcohol is leaving her head feeling fuzzy but she is still aware of the feeling of every single blow that is coming her way.  The feeling of Nitro’s arm being slung along the couch behind her is enough to send her hurtling over the edge.

She shoots up from the couch, earning several strange looks from her company.  “I need to go to the bathroom,” she announces, avoiding Nitro’s gaze as she looks around the room for an escape.

“I’ll show you where it is,” Nitro says causally, standing up from the couch.

“No, I’ll take her,” Jada intercedes, the large smile growing on her lips as she jumps up from the couch and places a hand on Nitro’s shoulder.  His eyes widen slightly at the gesture and he sits back down.

“Alright.  As long as you bring her right back,” he adds as Jada begins leading Arianna away.

“I will, silly,” she replies, rolling her eyes and making both of the men laugh.

The only sound between them as they walk across the room is their heels clicking on the floor.  Arianna knows that she only did this because she wants to tell her something but she hopes that she will just spit it out.  She can’t take the anticipation any longer.

They take a right and walk down a short hallway that ends with a door.  They pause outside of it and Jada tucks her long hair behind her ear, her face falling serious.

“Are you one of the girls that Harry keeps in his house?” she asks, her voice no louder than a whisper.

“Yes.  Are you one of Pierce’s?” Arianna returns, backing up until one of her heels touches the door.

“Yes.”

“Is Sydney…”

“Yes,” Jada says, cutting her off.  “Why did he let you come here?  He never brings his girls anywhere.”

“He just treats me better than most of his other girls.  It’s a long story,” Arianna answers, taking a drink from her cup.

“Well, I’d love to hear it but we don’t have much time.  I have to get back to Sydney before she gets too worked up.”

“Why is she so quiet?  She hasn’t said a word this whole time,” Arianna asks, licking the remainder of the alcohol off of her lips.

“She has anxiety.  Really bad anxiety.  Being captured by Pierce has made it even worse.  He doesn’t respect it and he doesn’t respect her.  She’s scared to death of him,” Jada explains, her eyes becoming guarded.

“Oh,” Arianna replies, unsure of how to respond.

“It’s really awful.  I wish every day that she could find a way out of this mess.  That’s why I was thinking… maybe Harry would treat her better.”

“No,” Arianna answers too quickly, biting her tongue to stop herself from yelling at Jada.  “No.  He’s not much better off than Pierce.”

The lie seems to sink in easily since Jada nods her head and looks over her shoulder.  “I’m sorry to hear that,” she says, giving Arianna a half smile.  “We should be heading back now or else they might come looking for us.”

Arianna nods and follows Jada back down the hallway.  “You and Sydney aren’t really sisters are you?”

“No.  It just makes telling people why we’re so close easier.  That way they don’t try to suspect anything,” she explains, smiling widely when Rowan gives them a small wave.

They take their seats on the couches again and Arianna notices how Sydney automatically shifts closer to Jada.  As much as it is hard for Arianna to believe, Jada seems like a nicer person than she had originally thought. 

Arianna crosses her legs and leans forward, grabbing the half empty bottle of vodka and filling her glass.  Despite the amount of alcohol she has consumed, she doesn’t feel as drunk as she is.  As she watches Sydney and Jada and sips on her drink, she couldn’t feel more sober.  The minutes tick by and before she realizes it, Pierce is approaching them from the doorway.

“Well, I better be heading off,” Nitro says, stumbling as he jumps down from his perch on the armrest.

He snatches the bottle of vodka and turns to look at Arianna.  “See you around?” he says more as a question than a statement.

“Yeah,” she replies quietly, her eyes falling to the table.

Rowan stands up on her other side and stretches his hands above his head.  She watches as he smiles at Jada before walking over and kissing her on the cheek.  She smiles openly at his gesture before her eyes divert to Pierce who has stopped on the other side of the coffee table.

Arianna looks up at him and notices the warning look on his face.  Rowan doesn’t notice the warning and turns, waving goodbye to Arianna and causing her to tear her eyes away from Pierce. 

“It was nice meeting you,” he says, continuing to ignore Pierce’s presence completely.

“You too,” Arianna responds, smiling up at him as he walks towards the door.

She clears her throat when Pierce starts to approach the couch and sets her empty cup on the table in front of her.  She can’t help but think about how strange it is that Nitro left her alone before Harry returned.  Her eyes shoot to the door, expecting him to be there and then wondering where he could be when he isn’t.  Should she go looking for him?  What if something happened to him?  The thought sends panic ripping through her.

Her eyes dart to Pierce as he sits down next to her, kicking his feet up on the coffee table and leaning back on the cushions.  The alcohol that is laced on his breath is evident when he turns and smiles at her.  The small amount of space between them makes discomfort sweep through her and she drops her gaze from his face.

“So, what does Harry see in you, huh?” he asks, causing her to inhale sharply.

 _Stay away from Pierce._ Harry’s words come rushing into her head and she shifts away from him slightly.

“Where’s Harry?” she asks, ignoring his question.

“He’s a bit held up.  I asked him to park my truck for me.”

“I shouldn’t be left alone,” Arianna says, moving to stand up from the couch.

Pierce’s hand shoots out and grasps onto her lower arm, pulling her back down and causing a gasp to slip through her lips.

“Pierce, baby.  You just need to calm down,” Jada says, startling Arianna when she sits down on Pierce’s other side and pulls his hand away from her arm.

“I didn’t say I wanted you.  Go back over there,” he snaps at her, making her breath in sharply and drop his arm.

Arianna is surprised when Sydney stands up from the couch and grabs Jada, quickly leading her away.  The panic returns at full force as she watches them disappear from the room, leaving her alone with Pierce.  His intimidating eyes rake up and down her body and his tongue darts out and wets his lips.

An uncomfortable chill runs up and down her back, sprouting goosebumps on her arms and legs.  She forces her eyes to stay focused forwards and tries to ignore the feeling of his hot breath fanning onto her neck.  The sight of every person that walks past the door makes her heart jump in her chest.  Where is Harry?

Pierce lifts his hand and drapes it over her shoulder, the cold skin of his fingers brushing her exposed shoulder.  She gasps and tries to stand up again.  Pierce grabs onto the back of her shirt, pulling her back down.

Her lip begins to tremble as his hand reaches into her hair and turns her head to face him.  “Harry never mentioned that he doesn’t mind sharing his girls with me, did he?” he whispers while his other hand forcefully grabs around her waist.

Fearful tears run down her cheeks as he continues to hold her in place.  To her surprise, she is more afraid now than she was when Harry captured her.  He never treated her this way.  Pierce is trying to violate her and there is no one around to stop him.

“What can you do for me?” he asks, a sly smile overtaking his face.  “Or would you like me to do something for you?”

A sharp sob slips through her lips when he attempts to pull her onto his lap.  Her hands immediately fly up to his chest to stop her from falling onto him.  The sound of the door slamming shut causes both of their heads to snap forwards.

“She would like you to get the fuck off of her,” Harry growls, clenching his shaking fists at his sides.

Pierce chuckles and releases Arianna, allowing her to jump off of the couch and take several steps backwards.  She lifts her arms and wipes the tears from her face as she watches Harry quickly cross the room.

“I’m off of her now.  It’s all good.  It’s not like I haven’t done this before, so what’s the big deal now?” Pierce asks, waving his hands in the air in a joking manner.

Harry reaches the couch and bends down, clutching the collar of Pierce’s shirt in his hands.  Arianna shrieks and moves to stop him before she freezes under Harry’s cautionary gaze.  Just as quickly as he looked away, he turns back to Pierce and pulls his face extremely close to his.

“She’s mine and you can’t fucking touch her,” he spits into his face.  Arianna notices how tightly his jaw is clenched and she moves towards them again, hoping to stop the fight before it happens.

“Like I said, you’ve always let me have your hand-me-downs.  Just a couple months ago, you gave me-”

“Harry!” Arianna’s voice rings through the silence that comes when Harry’s fist connects with Pierce’s mouth.

He retracts his arm for another punch as small drops of blood spill from Pierce’s lip but Arianna clutches onto him and pulls him back.  His hands release Pierce’s collar and he stumbles back onto the couch, holding his bloody mouth and cursing repeatedly.

Harry’s breathing is controlled but his chest is still heaving up and down as they quickly walk towards the exit.  Arianna holds tightly onto his arm, basically dragging him out of the house so that he won’t go back and try to finish what he started. 

She bites her lip when he turns and looks at her.  His eyes are still hostile and his forehead is still scrunched in a frown but she can tell that he is bringing himself back under control.

“Are you okay?” he forces out in a rough voice.

Arianna nods and looks away from him as they step out into the crowded party under the hazy night sky.


	26. 25.

“Are you really okay?” Harry asks as he opens the truck door for her.

She pauses before getting in and looks at him.  “I am,” she whispers.

Harry watches solemnly as she lifts her leg and climbs into the passenger seat of the truck.  There is no way that she is okay after what just happened and Harry isn’t stupid enough to believe that she is.  However, he remains silent as he closes the door and walks slowly around to the driver’s side.

He reaches into his back pocket and pulls the keys out.  His mind is still hectic with thoughts of going back and fighting with Pierce or breaking something.  The only thing that is keeping him seated is Arianna.  He glances over at her and sighs under his breath.  She looks unraveled.  Her makeup is smeared under her glossy eyes and her posture is defeated.  The confident demeanour she had been holding up all night is shattered at her feet and Harry doesn’t want to speak in the fear of breaking her further.

His shaky fingers grasp around the steering wheel and he looks over his shoulder as he backs out of the short driveway.  The events of the night have been slightly more than he can handle.  First Arianna is angry with him.  Then he has to leave her with Nitro and sneak into a greenhouse undetected with a group of idiots.  Now Pierce was trying to take advantage of Arianna while he was on the same premises.  What the fuck is wrong with him?

He understands that he has let Pierce do what he pleases with any girl he wants in the past but this is different.  This is Arianna.  She’s too fragile and susceptible to what Pierce was trying to do.  She hasn’t even allowed him to do those things to her yet.  Besides, he doesn’t want to share her.  For the first time in his life, he might be wanting something that no one else can have.

“Does your hand hurt?” Arianna asks quietly, breaking Harry’s attention from the road ahead of him.

“No,” he answers, quickly examining her guarded face. 

He turns back to the road after a moment and then glances down at his hand.  He hadn’t even noticed the pain from the slight bruising that is forming on his knuckles.  Usually, he punches with a bit more skill to avoid injuring his hands but tonight he was so angry he didn’t even bother to try.  He was so blinded by red at the sight of Pierce holding Arianna while she cried that he couldn’t think straight.

He keeps his eyes on the road when Arianna doesn’t continue the conversation.  The rest of the ride back to the house is accompanied by their collective silence.  Arianna allows her thoughts to run wild as she rests her head on the window and watches the world go by.

She crosses her arms over her chest and sighs.  This night was supposed to be great.  It was supposed to be her one chance to be free and have fun.  Looking back on it, she realizes she shouldn’t have expected anything great at all.  The idea of tonight to too perfect to be realistic.  Just the thoughts she had about it were willing it to go wrong.  She shouldn’t have come.  She should have trusted her original feelings towards it and stayed at the house.

The moment she saw Pierce, she should have asked Harry to take her back.  There was just such a strange feeling she had when he looked at her that made her feel wary to be there.  It was like she knew what was coming, like it was a plan. 

She glances at Harry out of the corner of her eye and is glad when it goes unnoticed.  Pierce had said that Harry lets him have his hand-me-downs.  What does that mean?  Is he implying that Harry brings other girls out of the house, to these types of parties?  That wouldn’t make any sense since he told her that she was the first to get these privileges.  Or did Pierce mean something else?

At the thought of suspicious conversations, she is reminded of how people kept getting cut off tonight while they were trying to tell her something important.  One of those times was intentional.  Pierce was about to tell her something about Harry’s hand-me-downs when he punched him in the mouth.  What was he so adamant to hide from her that he had to literally block the words from coming out of Pierce’s mouth?

There seems to be a never ending list of secrets and lies that come along with Harry and she doesn’t know how to approach him about any of them.  Every time she has tried to discuss serious topics with him, he starts a fight.  It would be nice if he would just give her what she wants for once.

They turn onto the small dirt road and Arianna is immediately thrown back in time to when she was first brought here.  She lifts her head from the window and her eyes dart around the road in front of them.  The abundance of trees on either side of it cloak the road and make it feel like a tunnel.  Arianna clasps her hands tighter in her lap when she feels Harry’s gaze fall onto her.  It’s almost like he can sense what she is feeling.

She purses her lips and stares down at her tightly intertwined hands as the truck cascades over bumps and roots that stick up out of the dirt.  The sound of the wind and branches brushing against the truck hits her ears when Harry rolls his window down.  Her hair blows around her face but her hands are so stiff in her lap that she can’t lift them to brush it away.

Just like her first night here, the house appears through the trees ahead of them.  The yard is dark except for the random lanterns situated on posts that lead up the path to the house.  The long windows on the front of the house are as dark as the night around them, signalling that no one is home except for the girls.

Harry parks in front of the jeep that she was brought here in when she was captured.  He turns the ignition off and without saying a word, he looks at her and opens his door, stepping outside.  Once the door is shut behind him, Arianna takes a deep breath and opens her own door before he can walk around the front of the truck.

She climbs down carefully, feeling her heels sink into the dirt.  When Harry reaches around her to shut the door, she begins walking towards the house.  The silence that follows as she walks along the driveway is slightly surprising.  She had expected Harry to try to talk to her by now.  She resists the urge to glance over her shoulder to make sure he is still there when she stops in front of the door.

She can hear the sound of his shoes crunching into the gravel as he approaches behind her.  A thick feeling stems from her stomach all the way up to her throat.  It’s like the night air is closing in around her, making it harder to breath.  But just the feeling of Harry standing over her shoulder is enough to stop her from falling into complete panic.

Arianna steps sideways as Harry steps forward, sticking the keys into the lock and opening the door.  The house is quiet and just as empty as when they pulled into the driveway.  Harry steps over the threshold, pausing to look over his shoulder as Arianna joins him.  Her clicking heels echo off of the walls, filling the silence that continues to press down on the two of them.

The basement door comes into view and for the first time, Arianna feels glad to see it.  She wants to escape the feeling she is consumed with.  She turns to place her foot on the stairs, spinning around to face Harry when she feels his hand slip around her elbow.

“No.  Come with me,” he says quietly, his apologetic eyes catching hers.

“Harry, I-” she begins but stops herself from saying the words. 

She lifts her foot from the stairs and allows him to lead her further down the hallway.  As much as she wants to be alone, she also wants to discuss what happened to her with Harry.  She wants to discover the answers to all of the questions that have formed in her mind over the past hour.

His hand holds loosely onto her arm the entire way and she smiles slightly at the comforting gesture.  The shaken feeling from Pierce and the fight still haven’t lifted but she doesn’t blame Harry for what happened.  If it wasn’t for him, a thousand other awful scenarios could have occurred.

When they walk past the bedroom door, Arianna’s eyebrows pull down into a frown.  She refrains from asking Harry where they are going as he continues to walk determinedly to the end of the hallway.

Her eyes sweep along the doors as they pass them.  She’s only been to this area of the house once before.  Just as the thought enters her mind, Harry stops in front of the door that leads to his art studio.  Further confusion sweeps over Arianna as he reaches out and opens the door.

The room is pitch black inside but Harry has no problem maneuvering his way to the far side of it.  He switches on the small lamp and his figure is illuminated with light.  His eyes lock on her as she remains standing in the doorway. 

Her limbs feel frozen, locked in place as he stares at her.  The pleading is evident in his eyes, even from across the room.  She swallows the tainted memories this room brings and places her hand on the frame of the door.  She puts one foot over the threshold and allows her eyes to survey her surroundings before they land on Harry.  For a moment, she is terrified that he will change his mind and begin yelling at her again.  However, the expression on his face and the honesty swimming in his eyes speaks otherwise.  So many things have changed between them since the last time she set foot in this room.  He isn’t as afraid to open up to her as he was before.

“Come here.  Talk to me,” he says, leaning on the work bench with his hands placed behind his back.

Arianna blows air gently through her lips and glances down at the paintings laid out only a few feet in front of her.  Her feet slowly begin moving towards him, partly without her consent.  She reaches her hand out and runs it along the smooth surface of the work bench next to her as she walks.  The gentle smile that overtakes Harry’s face makes her heart beat faster in her chest.

A smile falls onto her own lips as she stops in front of him.  The previous feeling of angst completely disappears from her as he reaches his arm behind her back and gestures to the space behind him. 

“Sit down,” he whispers, pointing at the work bench.

Arianna nods and pulls herself up onto the surface of the wood, sitting down and dangling her feet just above the floor.  “I thought you said you never wanted me in here again,” she points out, biting down on her lip to eat her smile.

Harry chuckles and shakes his head slightly, deep dimples appearing in his cheeks.  “That was under different circumstances.”

“What’s changed?”

“You,” he answers, fluttering his eyes up to her face.  “My perceptions of you.  You’re not the same girl I thought you were.  You’ve made me softer somehow.  I feel things I didn’t know could exist for me anymore.  So many things.  In fact, when I’m with you, I feel everything all at once.  It’s so confusing.  I don’t know what to do about it anymore.”

Each word hits Arianna in the most perfect way.  It’s the very thing she’s been waiting to hear for so long.  The very things she didn’t think Harry would ever say to her.  The words were broken and put together with confusion and uncertainty but she doesn’t care.  He’s fighting with the deepest parts of himself to be what she needs him to be.  Someone that isn’t so close to the darkest parts of himself.  Someone that she can begin to forgive for the mistakes he has made.

She bites back a smile as he scrambles to continue his revealing speech.  His eyebrows scrunch down above his eyes and his lips press together as he starts to become frustrated with himself.  Before he can say something he regrets, she reaches out and pulls him between her legs.

Her lips are quick to find his, latching on and blocking the smile that begins to form on his lips.  Her hands grip just below his jaw on either side of his face as his hands slide through her hair and down to hug around her waist.  She kisses him gently, allowing her lips to linger on his longer than he normally allows.  When he breaks away a few moments later, his green eyes lock on hers and steal her breath away.  His gaze is so intense and gentle at the same time that she can’t bring herself to break their stare.

A smile falls onto his lips and he raises his hand to brush his fingers through her hair.  She leans into the palm of his hand and sighs contently when his hand shifts to cup her cheek. 

“Come over here.  I want to try something,” he whispers, stroking her cheek once with his thumb before dropping his hand from her face and walking to the opposite table.

Arianna feels something stir inside of her at the idea of what he could mean and slides off of the table.  She follows him across the room, stopping next to him and looking down at the blank canvases in front of them.

“I was wondering if you would like to do something for me,” he says, grabbing a lonely pencil off of the desk and tapping the end of it against the wood.

“Depends on what you’re asking for?” she replies, leaning her elbow on the work top.

Harry chuckles and turns around to lean his back on the table.  “I want to paint you,” he answers, looking at the floor before smiling at her.

“Oh,” she says, averting her eyes to the blank canvases.

“Is that a yes or no?”

“A yes,” she answers, looking up at him and smiling. 

Slight disappointment flashes through her but she shakes it off, scolding herself for imagining such things in the first place.  The suggestion to paint her is something she would have never foreseen.  Knowing Harry the way that she knows him, this is far from his usual proposals, but something about it excites her.  He wants to paint her, meaning he wants to have a possession to remind him of her when she isn’t around.  And the thought does what it should have straight away, it excites her.

Harry turns on the hanging lightbulb above them and gathers a single, large canvas and a pouch filled with brushes, pencils and pens.  He puts the canvas on the center of the work bench and dumps the contents of the pouch on top of it.  Then he bends down and opens the cupboard below the table.  His finger traces along the variety of paint bottles, reading the names of each color.  He grabs out several different ones and places them next to the canvas.

Arianna watches him silently as he pulls up a stool and sits down on it, finally turning to face her.  “Sit on the table again,” he says, pointing at the cluttered space next to her.

She pushes the objects away and hoists herself up on onto the surface.  She crosses her legs and runs her hands through her hair, shaking the ends.  She feels her cheeks heating up when she glances at Harry and he has his bottom lip snatched in his teeth.  The look of desire on his face quickly transforms into a smile, the corners of his lips tugging up as he looks up at her. 

“Hold on,” he says, standing from the stool and walking back over to the other table. 

He approaches the small lamp and yanks the cord from the outlet, washing himself in darkness.  He returns to Arianna, carrying the lamp in his hands and plugs it into the outlet on the far side of him.  The harsh light shines onto Arianna but appears soft on her skin.  Harry walks back over to her and grabs her arms, leaning one on her knee and laying the other across her lap.  Then he lifts his hand to her head and leans it down until her cheek is resting against her hand.

She remains frozen in the position he has instructed as he holds up his finger and spins around, walking back to the cupboards and opening another one.  He grabs an empty bowl and a clean cloth.  He walks over to the small sink at the edge of the work top and fills the bowl with water. 

Her eyes follow him as he picks up the cloth and dips it into the bowl, soaking it as he approaches her once more.  He sets the bowl down beside her and rings the cloth out before lifting it to her face.  “You just have some makeup under your eyes,” he admits, wiping it gently away from her skin.

Arianna smiles and drops her eyes to the floor.  He continues to swipe the cloth over her cheeks until he is satisfied.  Then he drops it back into the bowl and carries it away.  It clatters quietly as he sets it back in the sink and he sighs before sitting back on the stool.

He pushes the utensils around before choosing a black, fine tipped pen and shoving the rest to the side.  He looks up at her for a moment before turning back to the canvas and beginning to sketch out lines at the top of it.

“You never told me if you’re okay,” he says, his eyes never leaving his work.

“I did, actually.  Twice,” Arianna points out, keeping her posture solid.

His hand moves quickly and expertly, leaving several gentle strokes behind.  From where she is sitting, Arianna can make out the outline of her face and hair.  Her breath catches in her throat when Harry looks back up at her.

“Those times don’t count.  I know you were saying you were fine so that I would stop asking.  Now I want you to give me an honest answer,” he says, keeping his eyes on her face.

“I’m fine, Harry, really.  That was my honest answer.”  Harry turns back to the paper with his eyebrows raised.  “I mean, I was trying to get you to leave me alone but I wasn’t lying.  What he did to me wasn’t anything more than what you’ve done to me,” she continues, causing him to stop mid-stroke.

His eyes remain on the paper and she immediately knows she’s struck a chord.  It only takes a moment for him to unfreeze and resume his precise strokes, but that is all it takes.  She instantly wants to take the words back, no matter how true they were.  She didn’t mean them in an accusatory way.  She only meant them in an honest way.  A way to compare how she’s feeling with something that’s familiar to him.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” she states, dropping her hand before quickly pulling it back up again.

“Then you wouldn’t have said it like that,” he counters, somehow keeping himself composed enough to not make the lines on his paper darker.

“I don’t understand why you’re getting upset when you know I said it because it’s true.  You did the exact same things to me that Pierce was trying to do.  You’re just as bad as him except in your case, there was no one there to stop you from doing it,” she snaps, losing her patience at his calm demeanour.

“I’m sorry!” he bursts out, throwing the pen down onto the floor.  Arianna jumps slightly but bites her tongue to hold herself back from arguing further with him.  She watches as he takes a deep breath and crouches down to pick the pen.  “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she whispers.

“It’s not,” he insists, sitting down on the stool with a huff.  “I’m fucked up and can’t have anything good in my life for more than two minutes.”

“That’s not true,” Arianna replies quietly, leaning back into her previous position.

“Then why are we fighting?”

“We’re not.  You had an outburst and collected yourself.  That’s not a fight.”

He sighs and grasps the pen tighter in his hand.  “You’re not in the right position,” he comments, his eyes flickering to her face.

She looks down at herself before adjusting her arm further until it’s resting on her knee.  Harry smiles slightly and turns back to the canvas, signalling that their argument is over.  Concentration covers his face as he adds details to her clothing and facial features.  She remains quiet as he continues to work, darkening the lines and sweeping his hand up and down to create each short strand of her hair.

It’s in that moment that she realizes how talented he is.  It’s hard for her to believe that he doesn’t want people to know about his art.  If it were her, she would want to show off her pictures to everyone.  But he is not her.

Thinking about his lack of enthusiasm for his talents reminds her of how she doesn’t show anyone her paintings at the dam.  Is he like her in the way that she is discouraged from her real passions so she refrains from showing them to people?  She blinks her eyes several times and watches him, bent over the drawing, examining the fine details.  She wishes she could stop having to guess why he is the way he is and he would just answer her questions like a normal person.

A quiet vibration fills the air and Harry reaches into his back pocket, pulling out his phone.  He turns on the screen and his eyes scan over a text.  He drops his pen on the table and types back a reply.

“Alright.  I have to go out for a couple hours.  So, I’ll finish this later.  I only have to paint it anyways,” he announces, turning his phone off and tucking it back in his pocket.

“Can I come?” Arianna asks, hopping down from the counter when he turns to walk towards the door.

He spins back to face her, a smirk pulling on his lips.  “Are you not tired?”

“No.”

“Alright then.  I guess there’s no stopping you,” he says, making her laugh and follow closely on his heels as he walks out the door.

 


	27. 26.

The soles of the Arianna’s sneakers leave light footprints in the dirt as they walk through the tall rows of corn.The moon is directly above them, casting white light at their feet.  The sweet air is kinder on Arianna’s lungs than the air inside of the small house was.  The building was compact and cluttered, a layer of dust settled on every surface.  Harry had left her alone in the entrance as he talked to his acquaintance in private.

Usually, the situation would bother her but she is just grateful that Harry allowed her to come in the first place.  Harry looks up at the sky as they walk, the moon illuminating his face.  He hoists the small backpack that is on his shoulder higher up his arm and sighs.  Even though she knows it will make him defensive, she wants to know why he is here and who the man he was talking to was.  For a moment, back at the house, she had worried that it was Pierce texting him.  She knows that Harry is still mad at him for what he tried to do and wouldn’t hesitate to fight him again.  Although, the mystery of this visit isn’t much better, she feels relieved that she was wrong.

“You’re not going to ask about what just happened?” Harry asks, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.  Arianna faces the ground and grins.  It’s like he can read her mind sometimes.

“I don’t want to be nosy,” she replies, scrunching up her nose.

“Really? That’s hilarious,” he retorts, playfully rolling his eyes.

“I don’t find your sense of humor very funny.”

“And why’s that?” he chuckles, glancing up from the ground to look at her.

She freezes under his gaze, her eyebrows lowering as she tries to keep her face serious.  “Because it’s not funny.  It’s just mean,” she answers, a giggle slipping through her lips when he raises his eyebrows at her.

Before she can register what is happening, his hands grip her sides and he throws her up and over his shoulder.  A loud laugh rings from her mouth and her hair falls down around her face as he spins her in circles.

“Take it back,” he demands playfully, tightening his grasp on her.

“No,” she laughs causing him to chuckle as well.

He readjusts his hand on her upper back and slides her body down his so that she is looking down on him.  “I’ve had a rough night,” he says, hugging her thighs tighter.  She rests her hands on his shoulders to steady herself before releasing a low sigh.

“I know,” she whispers, lifting her hand to comb her fingers through his hair.  “We both have.”

He exhales softly and closes his eyes at the gentle gesture.  “I still can’t believe he did that,” he says quietly, fluttering his eyes open.

The guilt that is mixed into the bright green is something that Arianna has rarely seen.  His gaze pulls on her heartstrings in a way it hasn’t before and she feels her resolve slipping quickly away from her grasp.  So many things have occurred in the past couple days that it is hard to keep track of every single one.  There were good things and bad things, and the good hardly outweigh the bad.  Still, she has seen a change in him that she never thought he was capable of.  It just kills her to know that that change might not be permanent and that’s all it takes to keep her from forgiving him yet.

“He didn’t hurt me,” she replies, shaking her head to rid herself of the conflicted thoughts.

“He would have.  If I hadn’t shown up, you would have gotten hurt,” Harry says, his voice becoming harsher.

Arianna frowns when she sees the crease forming between his eyes and cups her hand around his face, stroking his cheek with her thumb.  “But you _were_ there.  You knew that he was going to do something and you stopped him from doing it.”

“And by doing that, I scared you again.”

“No, you didn’t.  I know that you got angry but you had a reason behind it this time.  A real reason.  You did it to protect me, not harm me.”  She pauses her stroking and tilts her head to the side, giving him a small smile.  He returns it gradually but it doesn’t reach his eyes.

Without another word, he lowers Arianna to the ground and steps around her, walking to lower himself down in front of a wall of corn.  He sighs and runs his hands through his hair, tucking his knees up to his chest.  Arianna watches him for a moment before she joins him in the dirt.

“Stop thinking about it,” she says after a few minutes of silence.

Harry blows air loudly through his lips and reaches for the backpack that he had cast onto the ground next to him.  He pulls the zipper open and shoves his hand inside, pulling out a full bottle of vodka.  The liquid inside sloshes as he twists the cap off and throws it into the dirt ahead of them.

Surprising her, he offers Arianna the first drink.  She stares at the bottle in his hand for a second before she grasps the neck of it and leads it to her lips.  Even though the liquor is cold on her tongue, it spreads its heat throughout her body within seconds.  She rests the bottle on her kneecap, coughing twice before she hands it back to Harry.

She watches as he tosses his head back, gulping down a large amount of the drink.  Seeing him drink like this can only mean one thing.  He’s upset about something and it doesn’t seem like it’s from what they just discussed.  She wonders if it’s because of the conversation he had with the man in that strange house.

Her curiosity is quickly getting the better of her and she can feel the wall she has carefully crafted beginning to chip away, piece by piece.  She reaches out her hand without asking for permission and grabs the bottle from him.  She drinks as much as she can handle at once before setting it on the ground between them.  The silence that rests down around them is becoming more and more strained by the second. 

A cool breeze blows around them and Arianna shivers, immediately regretting not changing into something warmer than her party clothes before she came here.  Goosebumps rise on her arms and legs and she tucks them closer into her body.  Harry doesn’t notice how uncomfortable she is since his eyes are fixated on the ground across from him.  His fingers are laced together and hanging off of his tucked in knees.  He looks entranced in his thoughts and Arianna is afraid that if she says something, it might set him off.

So, she closes her eyes and remains silent.  The alcohol pumping through her veins is making it harder to remain that way but she doesn’t want to start another fight.  Minutes pass by without a sound being made from either of them.  When Arianna opens her eyes, a tiny gasp slips through her lips at the sight of Harry staring at her.  His face is careful and his eyes are brighter than a few minutes ago.

He is the first to break the silence.  “I’ve been thinking about something, darling,” he begins, a smirk creeping up on his lips.

Arianna gives him a suspicious look, ignores the fact that he is calling her darling again and allows him to continue.

“How would you like to run away with me?”

Arianna’s heart stops in her chest.  “Are you serious?”

“I could be,” he answers before inching closer to her.  “Or I could be kidding,” he adds in a whisper.

Arianna rolls her eyes when his lips curve up into a devious smile.  His body follows his head as he closes the space between them and places a hand on her thigh.  His skin is warm on hers and the alcohol coursing through her system mutes the blaring warning alarms that are going off in her head.

“You’re always kidding,” she remarks, causing a soft laugh to escape his lips.

His attention remains on his hand that is resting on her leg.  She feels her face heat as he squeezes his hand tighter on the delicate skin.

“You know, I never mentioned this before but you have a nice, little body,” he comments, accompanying each word by gripping higher on her bare thigh.  The current from his touch jolts through her body repeatedly until he lands his eyes on hers. 

“I do gymnastics,” she spits out, jarred from his words and touch.

“You do gymnastics?”

“I used to.  Before all of this,” she answers, hoping that he won’t take interest in the topic.

“That means you’re flexible,” Harry adds, raising his eyebrows in a dirty way.

“No, that’s not what it means,” she replies, bursting into laughter.

“Just let my imagination run wild for once, darling,” he groans, pushing her down onto the ground and laying on top of her.

“Why do you keep calling me that?  You haven’t done it in a while,” she asks, choosing to comment on it this time as she looks up at him.

He chuckles, hanging his head and smiling down at her.  “I was saving it.”

“For what?”

“I was saving it for a time where I could actually use it properly.”

In a way, his answer makes her melt, but in another way, his answer annoys her.  Why can’t he just choose one side of himself for once?  The crazy back and forth between the good Harry and the bad Harry are constantly battling in her head.  She’s supposed to be trying to get past this and forgive him but it is impossible when he keeps leaving her with half answered questions and non-serious comments.

She tries to focus on how much she is trying to pull away from him but his overwhelming presence hovering above her is hard to ignore.  He uses his arms to pull his body so that it is aligned with hers, elbows resting next to her shoulders so that their bodies aren’t touching.  His knees press into the sides of her legs and she feels the need for his touch slowing building.  His hands slip into her hair, brushing it away from her face as his mesmerizing eyes latch onto hers.

These are the moments that make it difficult to hate him.  The moments where who he truly is, slip away.  She knows now that it’s wrong to allow herself to forget that he is her captor and that he is a criminal but it is so hard when every trace of that part of him disappears.  And the way that he is looking at her right now makes all of her virtues soar away.

Her hands are quick to grab his face and she notes the sensual grunt that escapes his lips before she connects them onto hers.  His soft lips turn harder against hers as he moans into her mouth.  The sound reverberates through his chest and against hers as they press their bodies together.  Every ounce of resolve that Arianna was holding towards him is nowhere to be seen.  It could be because of the vodka but she isn’t positive how she gave in to him so easily again. 

Her pulse quickens as his hands grip tighter onto her hair, tugging gently to match the pattern of their kiss.  The fire inside of her has multiplied in size, reaching out to all of her extremities and clouding her senses.  She gasps into his mouth when his lips press firmly onto hers before they pull away.

She feels flustered as he looks down at her and she knows that her cheeks are flushed.  Her heart is still bounding in her chest and the intense look in his eyes threatens to send her into a nonsensical mess.  She bites down on her bottom lip to cap off her feelings and watches him do the same.  The same questions and fears she always has about him come flying to the front of her mind.  What is he feeling, if anything, after something like that?

She cautiously lifts her hand, which is shaking like a leaf, and places it on his cheek.  His skin is still hot compared to the cool air around them.  He sighs gently at the touch but quickly moves to get up.  Her heart drops in her chest as he climbs off of her and scoots over in the direction of the backpack.  This is a nasty reminder of the last time they had a moment and Harry jumped off of her.  Only this time, he didn’t jump, he just slowly slipped away without a word.  The difference doesn’t make her feel any better, though.

She watches silently as he casts the backpack aside and grabs the bottle of vodka instead.  The half empty bottle quickly becomes a quarter full bottle.  Arianna continues to sit quietly until he sets down the bottle between his outstretched legs.  He sighs and rubs his hand against his forehead.  Several questions pound against Arianna’s brain once again but she fights against the urge to ask them. 

“Do you want a cigarette?” Harry asks, breaking Arianna from her thoughts.  She glances down at his hand and in it is a small box full of cigarettes.

She nods her head and pulls one out of the box, pinching it tightly between her fingers.  She hasn’t noticed her frustration until she realizes all she wants to do with the cigarette is snap it in two and throw it away.  However, she accepts it and nods again in appreciation.

Harry pulls a small lighter from the front pocket of the backpack and flicks it on, illuminating his face in the darkness.  With the light being cast on his face, it is apparent how red rimmed his eyes are.  His movements are slow as he brings the fire to the tip of Arianna’s cigarette and she is momentarily glad he didn’t burn her.

The lit cigarette is lead to her lips and she inhales deeply, willing herself to calm down.  The frustration she feels is slowly leaving her system and she can feel the wall she built coming back into place.  If he has any hopes of completely knocking it down and destroying the rubble he will have to stop backtracking on his progress.

A cloud of smoke settles down around them, making it even harder to see each other.  Arianna tucks her legs into her body and rests her hands limply onto top of them.  A thin stream of smoke swirls off the tip of the cigarette and joins the thick cloud that is blown from Harry’s lips. 

She glances at him before averting her attention to the ground.  She can’t stop wondering what is on his mind and it is driving her crazy.  Before she has a chance to consider asking him about it, he places his hand on her arm.  Her eyes widen as he leans in and presses his lips against hers.  His lips are gentle this time and taste like cigarettes.  He retracts a few seconds later, holding her chin with his free hand.  In her half drunken state, it feels right but the rest of her knows it’s wrong.  The brief kiss is leaving her feeling even more confused than before. 

After a few moments, he drops his hand from her face but remains sitting near her.  She finds herself leaning into him as she takes another drag from her cigarette.  She blows out slowly, her eyes surveying the tall stalks of corn ahead of them.  Harry’s bipolar personality is still making her angry and she wants to ask at least one of her questions.

“Why are you friends with Pierce?  Be honest with me this time,” she asks, turning to look at him.

“I was honest before,” he says, chuckling softly.  “But since you’re so insistent to know more… my “friendship” with him runs in the family.”

Runs in the family?  What does that even mean?  The frustration returns full force and yet Arianna still holds her tongue from asking further questions.  She knows that he is holding back how upset he is over the intrusiveness of her question and she doesn’t want to push him too far.  But what does he mean by that?

“My grandparents were friends with his grandparents and my parents were friends with his parents,” he continues, pulling at the loose skin on his fingertips.

At the mention of parents, Arianna feels a sting.  She hasn’t thought about her parents in a while.  It’s strange to think that the house and being with Harry and the others feels like a whole other world to her.  She feels like she never belonged to anyone else and that she doesn’t need her parents anymore.  Even though the thought of them causes her to miss them.

No matter how hard she tries to forget them and embrace the freedom that this experience has given her, she can’t.  Guilt sweeps over her at the thought of her frantic parents searching day and night for her, putting out lost child posters and crying themselves to sleep at night.  Why has she been so selfish?  She allowed herself to forget about them completely for weeks.  What does that have to say about her?

Her thoughts are disrupted by Harry’s hand gently brushing her hair behind her ear.  Is he the reason?  She bites down on her lip and looks down at the cigarette slowly burning out in her hand.  Or is it because she is glad to be away from her parents and their continuous need to try and direct her life?  Irritation replaces her guilt but she isn’t sure if it is at her parents or herself. 

“What’s wrong?” Harry whispers, stopping the soothing movement of his hand when Arianna turns to look at him.

“It’s just my parents,” she answers, twiddling the cigarette around in her fingers.  Harry signals for her to go on.  “They’re just sort of awful.” 

“Well, coming from a broken family, I doubt that your parents are any more awful than mine.”

“Why is your family broken?”

Harry looks straight ahead and sighs under his breath.  Arianna knows that she is close to pressing his buttons but she doesn’t care. 

“They just are,” he says, sighing again.

Arianna hums and drops her cigarette into the dirt.  She rolls it under her sneaker until it is put out.  She isn’t surprised by his answer, just like she isn’t surprised by the silence that follows it.  She closes her eyes and when she opens them, she is looking up at the sky.  The large moon leaves its white halo in the dark sky around it and tiny stars scatter the rest of the sky.  The remnants from Harry’s cigarette smoke linger in the air but otherwise it is clear.

As she examines the sky, she realizes how much it bothers her that Harry has to carry around so much pain.  If he would just open up to her then maybe she could relieve some of it.  At the thought of his pain, she wonders if he was right about her all those nights ago when they fought.  Does she sympathize him?  Is that why she wants to get close to him?  Does she feel sorry for him and the person he has allowed himself to become?

The questions dig at her brain and she disappoints herself when she has no answers for them.  She just knows that he is in pain.  She doesn’t know anything else.

“How do you deal with the pain?” she asks before she can stop herself.

He glances at her before his eyes fall back onto the ground.  “I don’t.  I like to will myself not to feel the pain,” he answers, blinking slowly when he meets her eyes again.

“You shouldn’t do that.  You’re destroying yourself in the process,” she says, lowering her eyebrows when the frown on his face lessens.

“Don’t worry about me, darling,” he says, smiling slightly.

His reaction doesn’t lift her worry at all.  The sound of his phone buzzing in his pocket interrupts her second protest.  He continues to smile as he pulls the phone out and brings it up to his ear.

“What do you want?” he says into the speaker.  “Now?”

Arianna watches as his smile disappears and the frown quickly takes its place again.  “Fuck,” he whispers, running his fingers through his hair and yanking on the ends.  “Don’t do anything until I get there.  I mean it, Simeon.  Fuck.”

He hangs up the phone and turns to face Arianna.  His eyes are blazing, still red rimmed from the alcohol but she can tell he has been instantly sobered. 

“What’s going on?” Arianna asks, her eyes following Harry as he stands and throws the empty vodka bottle back in the backpack.

“Simeon’s a fucking idiot.  That’s what’s going on,” he mutters, tossing his cigarette onto the ground and kicking it into the dirt as he walks.

Arianna bites her tongue to avoid asking the follow up question and follows him as he rushes back in the direction of the truck.


	28. 27.

Arianna wakes to the sound of soft snoring.  She rolls over and flutters her eyes open, squinting at the bright light shining from the lamp beside her bed.  She slowly sits up and looks around the room for the source of the noise.  Her eyes fall onto Xenia who is laying on a makeshift mattress at the foot of the bed.

She blinks her eyes repeatedly, her mouth forcing open into a wide yawn.  She shoves the blankets off of her knees and stares down at Xenia for a couple moments.  When did she get here?  The question makes her freeze, the events of the night before pouring into her head so quickly that she can barely make sense of them. 

The last thing she remembers is Harry driving angrily to the place where Simeon was told to wait for them.  She doesn’t even remember falling asleep in the truck, assuming that was what happened.  She feels her feet touch the floor before she can even register that she intended to do so.  She stands and immediately clutches her head, a dizzy feeling sweeping through her and causing her to stumble back onto the bed.

The springs of the mattress squeak beneath her and her eyes snap to the floor as Xenia shuffles in her sleep, her eyes rolling back and forth underneath her eyelids.  Arianna holds her breath and remains perfectly still until the soft snores resume from her lips.  When she begins breathing again, she realizes how dry her throat feels.  Fragments of the several drinks she consumed last night flash through her mind. 

She stands again, slower this time, and carefully creeps around Xenia’s sleeping body and to the small fridge.  Crouching down, she pulls out a water bottle and screws the cap off, bringing it to her parched lips.  She finishes the entire bottle, tossing it down into the small garbage can by the door and walking over to her dresser.  She peels the clothes from the night before off of her body and slips on black leggings and a blue, button up shirt.  Then she ruffles her fingers through her hair and begins making her way to the small bathroom. 

Once inside, she grabs a hairbrush and drags it through her hair, fluffing up the ends.  The short hair in her reflection is only now becoming familiar to her.  She digs through her makeup bag, applying a small amount of foundation over the freckles that dot her cheeks and black mascara to her long eyelashes.  Her foot taps nervously on the floor as she grabs her toothbrush and runs it under the water.  The scenarios that rush into her mind about what could have happened last night are beginning to drive her crazy.  She wants to ask Harry about it but she has no way of getting to him from down here.

She finishes brushing her teeth and exits the bathroom, pausing in front of her dresser again.  Xenia continues to sleep blissfully, the nervous expression that normally covers her face is dormant.  It reminds her that even though Arianna sometimes forgets what Harry did to her, she will never forget what he has done to Xenia.

She pulls her eyes away from her sleeping face and tries to swallow down the anger that is building in her chest.  There’s no reason to get angry at someone that isn’t even in the room.  She will wait until he is standing right in front of her.  Her eyes fall onto the wide open book that is lying on top of her dresser.  She picks it up and examines the pages, smiling slightly.  It seems like it was ages ago when Elaina gave her this book and warned her about Harry.  At times, she forgets completely about it, almost like when she forgets about how evil Harry actually is. 

She sighs and sets the book back down on the dresser.  Nothing can keep the thoughts of Harry out of her head while she is trapped in this room.  Her hands reach up and tuck her hair behind her ears, the feathery ends tickling her fingertips.  Her feet pad softly on the wooden floor boards as she creeps around Xenia’s sleeping body and peers between the bars on the door as far as she can see.

She purses her lips when she can’t see anything or anyone down the hall.  For a moment, she wonders why Harry brought her down here instead of letting her sleep upstairs.  Was it because of Xenia or was it because he didn’t want her to find out about what happened last night?  The suspicion makes her stomach twist and clench in frustration.  Hadn’t they come further than this?  Every time Ariana thinks they are making progress, Harry steps on the gas pedal and sends them hurdling back a thousand feet.  She had made it clear that she couldn’t do this unless he respects her and treats her right and he’s only continuing to keep things from her and dodge every question she throws his way.

She groans and walks back over to her bed.  Instead of sitting down, she turns on her heel and paces back to the barred door.  She rests her head down against the cool metal bars and bites her lip, rolling the thick flesh between her teeth.  The fact that Harry hasn’t come downstairs to check on her or tell her what she missed isn’t sitting smoothly with her.  She wants to yell and scream at him.  Anything to make up for the uneasy, impatient feeling that is consuming her every fibre.

She relaxes her balled up fists and raises her hand, smacking the bars with her open palm.  The sensation relieves some of the pent up anger in her system so she raises her other hand, slapping them both against the bars at the same time.  She repeatedly pounds on the bars until a ringing sound becomes constant in the air surrounding her.  She only stops when she hears Xenia wake with a gasp.

“Shit.  I’m sorry,” Arianna whispers, spinning around to face Xenia.

She slowly sits up on her mattress, propping herself up on one arm.  “S’alright,” she slurs, rubbing her eyes with a closed fist.  “Just thought you were someone else… or something else.  Doesn’t matter.”

Arianna discovers herself smiling at the slow, sleepy drawl of Xenia’s voice.  But the moment isn’t enough to stop the previous annoyance from crashing back in.

“I’m just so pissed off.  And I’m never this pissed off this early in the morning.  I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“Its fine,” Xenia replies, her plump lips stretching thin in a sleepy smile.  “As long as it’s not because of my snoring.”

Arianna chuckles and moves to perch herself at the foot of Xenia’s mattress.  “No.  Not this time.”

Xenia joins her in laughter, leaning against Arianna’s bed and pulling her blanket up and over her knees.  Arianna shuffles her fingers through her hair and gradually lets the smile disappear from her face.  She turns her head and examines the gentle slope of Xenia’s nose as she stares blankly in the direction of the door.

“What made you so angry?” Xenia asks, her head still facing forward.

“It’s nothing, really.  Don’t worry about it.”

“Okay.  So, you think I’m going to let you complain about being mad to me but allow you to get away without telling me why?”

Arianna allows an entertained smile to spread against her cheeks and chuckles softly before stretching her legs out in front of her.  “It's just silly. I-” her sentence runs short, a laugh ringing through her lips. “I don't know why I keep catching myself in this vicious cycle of fighting and accepting Harry. I just want to be in one place for a minute, you know?  And I think I deserve it. Especially after all shit he's put me through.  I don't even know how I’m able to have a civil conversation with him after what he did to us. What he's still doing to us.”

“I've done it, too.”

“Really?”

Xenia nods her head slowly, turning to face Arianna. Her blue eyes are narrowed and her lips are pressed in a tight line. “Sort of. I've had a few moments with him where he was upset and I kind of sympathized with him. I don't have a clue why I did it but it happened.”

Her words feel like a knife is being twisted in Arianna’s gut.  This is the second time it's seemed like she's sympathizing Harry.  Her lip curls into her mouth and she chews on it. The thought makes her feel even more uneasy than the first time she realized it. But there's still something in the back of her mind that's causing her to think there's something else going on between them.  After all, she used to hate him so much that she didn't even want to look at him.

“It was easier to hate him before I knew him,” Arianna says, staring down at her hands.

Xenia nods, a small smile spreading on her lips.

“I get it.  I can’t really say that I’ve experienced a nice side of him yet but I have seen him be vulnerable.  It makes me wonder if there might actually be a nice person underneath.”

Arianna sighs, her eyes darting away from Xenia’s glassy, blue ones.  “I don’t know.  I haven’t had time to figure that out yet, between the constant back and forth going on in my head and moments of weakness like this… I just haven’t made up my mind.”

Arianna laughs humorlessly and continues, “I just sound crazy, questioning whether or not I should forgive him for this.”

“Maybe a little stupid or empathetic.  I don’t know if I’d call you crazy though,” Xenia jokes, chuckling quietly as her hand runs along the top of the comforter.

Arianna notices this and reaches out, clasping onto her hand tightly.  Xenia eyes land on Arianna’s face and a tight lipped smile replaces her laughing one.  Tears well in her big eyes and Arianna finds herself having to bite on her lip to prevent tears spilling from her own eyes.

“How are you feeling?  About all of this,” Arianna asks, her eyes darting around every inch of Xenia’s face.

“I’m still terrified all the time.  Last night, when he came to put me in her with you, he was so angry.  I was afraid to say or do anything.  I thought he was angry with me,” she chokes out, a single tear breaking away from her long eyelashes.

“He wasn’t angry at you.  I’m not exactly sure what he was angry about but it was definitely not you,” Arianna replies, squeezing her hand tighter.

“I was pretty sure he wasn’t but I can never be positive.  I’ve seen him angry so many times and I can’t defend myself.  What if he tries to do something to me one of these times?  What if he loses control without meaning it?”

“That won’t happen, Xenia.  I won’t let it.  That’s why I asked for you to be moved in here with me.  I’ll watch over you.  You don’t have to worry,” Arianna says quietly, pulling Xenia into a tight hug.  She sniffles into her shoulder but no more tears fall from her eyes.

“Thank you, Arianna.  Thank you for standing up for me when no one else would have.”

“Anyone else here would have if they had the chance.  We’re all in this together, remember?”

Xenia nods her head, cuddling further into Arianna’s neck.  Arianna sighs and rubs her back gently, trying to stay strong for her.  She can’t imagine what it must be like to be in a constant state of fear and uncertainty.  She can remember what it was like the first few days she was here and how terrifying that was but she knows it’s nothing compared to how Xenia feels.

The sound of keys turning in a lock interrupts the moment, causing Arianna to back away from Xenia and unlatch her arms from the back of her neck.  They both remain stationary as the newcomer closes the door and footsteps begin tapping against the wooden floor.

“I’ll go see who it is,” Arianna whispers, pushing herself up into a standing position.

She walks over to the bars and leans against them, peeking her eyes towards the door.  She can’t see anyone but she hears the footsteps stop in a shuffle. 

“Well, look who’s awake with the birds this morning,” a girl’s voice calls out, making Arianna blink in surprise.

“It’s the afternoon, Eliza,” a voice replies, the tone flippant.  The sound of it makes Arianna’s stomach shoot up into her throat.

She coughs quietly and turns to face Xenia, who is still sitting on the bed.  “It’s Harry,” she whispers, watching Xenia lift her hand and wipe the tears off of her rosy cheeks.

“As if I know or care what fucking time of the day it is,” Eliza spits back and Arianna can immediately picture the defiant expression on the face of the tiny girl with a half shaved head.

“You know, it’s always such a pleasure talking with you.  I think you might be the most likeable person I know,” Harry retaliates, the smirk clear in his voice.

“And you’re the most candid person I know.”

Harry laughs and runs his fingers along the bars as he slowly walks in the direction of the next cell.  “Fairness comes to people that deserve it.  Remember that.”

“Ha ha.”

The sound of footsteps resume and Arianna feels the impatient anger rising in her with every step. 

“Is he coming?” Xenia asks, her voice shaking slightly.

Before Arianna has a chance to answer her, Harry appears in front of her.

“Ah, well if it isn’t my favorite girls?”

Arianna quickly reaches up and grasps the bars with her hands, causing Harry to take one step backwards in surprise.

“Easy.  I’ve had a rough past couple hours, Ari.  So have you,” he says, taking two steps closer to her.

“Well, I wouldn’t know that, would I?  You didn’t bother mentioning anything to me for hours and you locked me down here for no reason!” Arianna explodes, her arms straining as her fists form into tight balls.

“Well, if you would just calm down and listen, I would tell you,” Harry says, his voice remaining steady.

“I can’t calm down!  You agreed to try and treat me differently but then you do this!  And then I find out that you’ve been treating Xenia the same way!  Why would you do that?”

“Let’s not fight here.  Okay?” Harry pleads, leaning in until their faces are only a few inches apart.  He lowers his voice a few octaves.  “I can make this up to you.  But you have to agree to come with me and behave yourself.”

Arianna sighs in exasperation and clutches her forehead in her hand.  “You can’t just expect me to bend to fit your expectations all the time, Harry.  I’m allowed to be angry with you. I’m allowed to resist you.  You don’t control me.”

“I get that.  I do.  But trust me when I say that you won’t regret coming with me this time.”

Arianna’s hand slides down to pinch the bridge of her nose.  “You don’t get it.  That’s the problem.”

“Just come with me.  We’ll talk about this on the way.  That way you can yell at me all you want and I won’t be able to escape it,” Harry begs, his mouth turning upwards in a small, pleading smile.

Arianna’s head shakes as she looks up at the ceiling.  The frustration at his responses are making it difficult to coherently think of ways to answer them.  Why would he even think that she wants to go anywhere with him after what she said?  His reasoning never makes sense, no matter what context it’s in. 

Arianna lowers her head to face him again, her eyes narrowing into slits.  “Fuck you,” she whispers, lunging forward and smacking the bars with her flat palm.

Harry remains still, his eyes darting from Arianna’s face to the floor.  He doesn’t fight back like she expected him to and the reaction makes her even angrier.

“Fuck you and your annoying, two faced attitude!  I can’t deal with this!  You drive me crazy!  I don’t want to go anywhere with you!  Why don’t you get that?”

“If you-”

“No!” Arianna exclaims, causing Harry’s lips to flutter wordlessly and fall stationary.  “No!  You don’t get to interrupt me!  I’m not finished telling you all the things you need to hear!”  Arianna pauses, inhaling sharply before lifting her hand and beginning to list things off on each of her fingers.  “You think that you own us which you don’t.  We’re people and you can’t treat us like you do.  You flip personalities like it’s a second nature and it drives me crazy.  You have no respect for personal space even though I told you not to touch me several times.  And you’re fucked up.  I’ve never met someone as insane as you.  What are you even doing with us?  Who does this?  Not a normal person, not a kind person and definitely not someone who says he cares about the people he does it to!”

Arianna’s voice falls silent, her chest heaving up and down with each breath she takes.  Her cheeks are rosy and her grey eyes are wet with tears.  Harry stands in the same place as before, his hands flat against his sides and his mouth sealed shut.  Plain surprise is evident on his face as he continues to stare at her wordlessly.

“Well?  Aren’t you going to give me some snide remark?” Arianna asks in exasperation, her hands lifting to cross over her chest.

The only sound in the room is Xenia’s quiet panting as she sits cross legged on the mattress, her face a mask of panic.  Harry’s continued silence sparks more anger in Arianna and she drops her arms from her chest, balling her hands into fists.

“What?  Now you have nothing to say to me?  You’re telling me you’re just going to stand there in silence and take it?  After all those fights!  All those times you’ve been angry with me!  You’re not going to say anything!”  Arianna’s anger blinds her so much that she doesn’t even notice when Harry sticks the key into the lock and yanks the cell door open.

“You have to be kidding me?  You’re one of the most short-tempered people I’ve ever seen!  Come on, Harry!  Yell at me!  Fight back-” her words are cut short when Harry grasps her wrist in his hand and pulls her through the door. 

She continues to yell at him as he locks the door and proceeds to drag her down the hall but he drowns out her words.  He can feel the sharp smacks of her hand against his arm and back but he ignores them as well as he opens the basement door and steps them through it.  He slams the door behind them and releases Arianna’s arm so he can lock the door behind them.  He pauses his actions when he hears a sharp sob cut through the air.  He glances over his shoulder and his face scrunches into a frown at the sight of the tears falling down Arianna’s cheeks.

“I just don’t understand,” she sobs, furiously wiping at her redden cheeks.  “I feel this way all the time but I still can’t stop myself from wanting to be around you.”

Harry steps forward and extends his arm towards her.  He tenderly places it on her shoulder and watches as her bottom lip trembles before she steps forward into him.  Her head falls onto his shoulder and he raises one arm to hold her there.

“It’s confusing to me, too,” he whispers, rubbing her back as more soft sobs burst through her lips.  “I get it.  You want space, I’ll try to give it to you.  I just thought you wanted to know about what happened last night.”

“I don’t want space,” Arianna chokes out, her voice quiet.  She lifts her head up to look at him.  “I know it’s doesn’t make sense but I don’t want you to stay away from me.”

“But aren’t you pissed at me?”

“Yes,” she answers, sniffling.  “But I’m almost always pissed at you.”  Harry chuckles quietly, his dimples pressing into his cheeks.  “That doesn’t mean I’m going to forgive you for this so quickly, though.”

“I probably deserve that.”

“You do,” she says matter-of-factly, raising her eyebrows as she glances up at him.

“Fair enough,” Harry replies, fighting to keep the smile off of his face.  He watches silently as Arianna slinks away from him and climbs up the bottom step, pausing to face him again. 

“And I also want to know what happened last night,” she adds, grabbing the material of his long sleeved, white shirt in her hand and pulling him with her as she walks up the stairs sideways.

“Let’s save it for the drive,” Harry chuckles, looking up from her hand to her face.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see,” he answers, following her slowly up the steps.


	29. 28.

The large, black pickup truck starts up with a roar, the floor shaking at Arianna’s feet.  The sun is bursting through the clouds above the tall trees in front of them and resting on her collarbone.  She pulls the flap down in front of her face to block the sun from reaching her eyes.  She was surprised when she walked out of the house to see that it was late afternoon outside instead of early morning.  It made her realize that she’s slept through half of the day which only makes her more curious to know what kept her up so late last night.

She sits up higher on the seat and lifts her legs to place them under her as Harry backs up and turns the truck around.  Gravel crunches beneath the tires and Harry’s eyes focus on the driveway as they begin travelling down it.  Arianna’s eyes fall onto a wrapped up food item that slides across the dash as they drive over the bumpy, dirt road. 

Her stomach growls and grumbles quietly when she remembers that she hasn’t eaten anything since last night.  Her eyes follow the food as it moves towards Harry’s side of the truck.

“It’s for you, if you’re hungry,” Harry states, a laugh hugging each of his words.

Arianna immediately reaches forward and grabs the food, smiling when the warm wrapper is pinched between her fingers.  She earns a chuckle from Harry as she peels the outside off and reveals the bagel inside.

“You made me a bagel?” she asks, turning to face him with her eyebrows raised in surprise.

“Yeah,” Harry answers, keeping his eyes focused straight ahead.

“That’s so normal.”

“What’s wrong with normal?” Harry asks, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

“Nothing.  It’s just… it’s different from the whole captor/prisoner, you’re the boss of everything, thing that you usually have going on.”

Harry laughs at her response and clutches the thin steering wheel tighter in his hand.  His other hand scratches at his pant leg, gripping onto the material as they coast over a stray rock in the road.  Arianna raises the bagel to her lips and hums as she takes a bite, turning to look at Harry with a smile on her lips.

“This is good,” she compliments, sinking her teeth into the bagel again.  “I didn’t know you prepared food.”

“Well, I don’t have a personal chef, now do I?”

Arianna chuckles, her voice thick from the food.  “I’m just surprised, that’s all.”

Harry laughs softly, massaging his chin with his fingertips.  “You better stop laughing or there won’t be more where that came from.”

Arianna’s eyebrows raise and she takes another bite, chewing quietly.  They spend the next few minutes in silence, the road changing from dirt to pavement beneath them.  She finishes her bagel and stuffs the empty paper wrapping into the console between them.  Harry reaches over and turns up the radio, filling the small space with barely audible rock music.

Arianna shuffles around in her seat, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on them.  She waits patiently for Harry to begin explaining what happened the night before, her eyes scanning the yellowish, long grass along the side of the road.  When he doesn’t speak, her mind travels to a completely different topic.

She bites on her lip as she thinks about what happened with Xenia before they left.  The thought makes her realize how they need to look out for each other even more than ever before.  Sometimes, she gets so caught up in everything to do with Harry that she forgets that the other girls are even there.  She knows that this is selfish of her but it also terrifies her.  She is scared to death over the fact that he can blind her so easily to the life he is forcing her to live.  He can make her forget about Xenia, Elaina and even her cousin Tammy with the snap of his fingers. 

She knows that she should ask him about Tammy.  That she should at least ask the other girls about Tammy but she is terrified that Harry will act out suddenly if he finds out that they are related.  Still, the thought of her not knowing where she is or what he has done with her is constantly hanging in the back of her mind.

In a moment of bravery, she opens her lips to begin asking him about her but is cut short by a question of his own.

“Do you remember anything from last night?” Harry asks, turning to face her for a couple seconds.

Arianna shakes her head in response, her lips popped out in an O shape.

“You were passed out when I carried you in,” he says, smiling softly at her.

“You carried me?”

“Yeah.  You fell asleep in the truck on the way to meet Simeon and I didn’t want to wake you.  You were having an incredibly awful night and you looked so peaceful in your sleep.  You were basically dead in my arms.  Didn’t even flinch the whole way.”

Arianna nods and drops her legs to the floor, turning her body so that she can see him better.  “So what did Simeon do?  Why were you so angry at him and why did you take it out on Xenia?  Did it have something to do with the heist?”  The questions come pouring out in one breath, Arianna’s eyes wide and light grey in the setting, orange sun.

“So many questions,” Harry chuckles, pushing a pair of sunglasses down onto his nose.  He takes a deep breath and flicks the signal switch, exiting the truck off of the highway.

They turn onto another busy road, the sides of it covered by towering trees.  Arianna’s eyes remain on his face, awaiting the answers to all of her questions.

Harry takes another deep breath and opens his mouth to speak.  “Simeon gave Pierce the address to my house last night,” he answers in a tight, restrained voice.  “It’s my fault, really.  I should have known better than to leave him alone at the party when we stormed out.  He never has been able to gage the difference between a trick and a threat.”

“Pierce threatened him?” Arianna interrupts, her eyebrows knitting together.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“He wants something from me.  He’s always searching for a way to upstage me.  The empire that I’ve built is like the apple of his fucking eye.  He doesn’t even rest because he’s constantly trying to steal everything out from under me,” Harry explains, his entire body stiffening in predictable rage.

“What did he threaten him with?”

Harry’s hand loosens on the steering wheel.  His previously climbing anger, dissipating rapidly.  “I don’t know.  He wouldn’t tell me no matter how hard I threatened to pummel him.”

“Harry!”

He ignores her disgusted outburst and continues to answer her question.  “All he kept saying was that he couldn’t tell me what the dipshit said to him.  Only that he wasn’t even supposed to tell me about him knowing the address at all.  Pierce told him not to say a word about anything to me or Nitro which only makes me more suspicious about why he wanted the address in the first place.”

He takes another deep breath and ruffles his fingers through his hair.  “So, I did the only thing I know how to do and threatened him back.  It was my territory on the line, my business.  I had to protect my lineage.  So, I yelled at Simeon and called Pierce.”

“What did you say?”

“I threatened him, too.  And being the prick he is, he laughed at me and told me to come and meet him tonight,” Harry replies, keeping his eyes fixed on the road.  “That’s where we’re going.”

“What are you going to do when we get there?”

“I’ll find out what he wants and deal with it as I see necessary.”

Arianna’s hand flies up and grabs onto his upper arm.  He flinches slightly under her touch.  “I don’t want you to hurt him.  He’s probably just angry about what happened last night.”

Harry pulls his arm out of her grasp and her face falls.  “That’s why I’m bringing you along.  I’m hoping that once he sees you, he’ll talk to me.”

“What do I have to do with this?  I’ll probably only make things worse.”

“No.  He wants you.  If I throw you in the mix, he’ll be like putty in my hands.”

Arianna bites down on her lip, hard.  The idea of seeing Pierce again after what he tried to do to her last night isn’t settling easy on her stomach.  Lifting her hand, she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear twice.  Harry doesn’t seem to notice her nervous behavior since his gaze is constantly drawn on the road in front of them.

An image of Pierce’s crooked smile and dark eyes dances in front of Arianna’s line of vision.  She blinks a couple times and turns her head to look out the side window.  She releases her lip before she starts to taste blood and sighs soundlessly.  The images in her mind fly from Pierce to moments at the party to Harry punching both Simeon and Pierce directly in the face.  As hard as she tries, she can’t seem to stop seeing them. 

The open fields outside her window rush past as Harry accelerates his speed, the sound straining from the engine as they cross into another state.  Random houses pop up and disappear just as quickly as they came.  The quiet music that is playing from the radio still hovers in the air between them, creating a barrier that would usually be filled with awkward silence.  As Arianna tries to relax, the images of Pierce, Harry and Simeon slowly begin to transform into Elaina, Xenia and Tammy.  The question of whether to mention Tammy to Harry or keep the information to herself once again battles in her brain.

The curiosity she holds against the situation is overpowering but he could still become angry or upset or happy about it.  She never knows how he will react when it comes to things like this.  Except, the idea of not knowing what happened to Tammy is worse than any outburst he can throw at her.  Besides, she has already seen him at his worst.

She turns to look at him, the rapidly setting sun reflecting off of his black sunglasses.  “Harry, can I ask you something?” she whispers, her voice barely carrying over the music.

He averts his eyes from the road to look at her.  It’s impossible to read the expression in his eyes through his sunglasses.  “Sure, but the willingness of my answer will depend on the type of question it is,” he replies, looking back at the road for a moment.

“What happened to that girl that was a few cells down from me?  You brought her in on the same day as me.”

Harry faces the road again, stretching his shoulders and turning onto a side street.  “That’s a complicated question,” he answers, tapping all of his fingers once against the steering wheel.

Arianna looks away from him and her eyes scan the abundance of buildings on either side of them as they enter a small town.  “Just try to give me something resembling an answer,” she sighs, slapping her hand down on her lap.

“We’re here,” Harry says, avoiding her complaint and question evasively. 

Arianna’s eyes snap forward as they pull into the parking lot of a restaurant.  There are two other cars in the lot but no people in sight.  Harry shifts the truck into park and shuts off the engine.  Without another word, he opens his door and steps down, closing it quietly behind him.

Arianna sighs and tucks her hair behind her ears before grabbing a light jacket from the back seat and joining him outside.  She glares at him and slips her arms through the sleeves of the jacket as he adjusts his sunglasses on his nose.  He pulls his phone out of his pocket and checks the screen.  He reads a text and his eyes lift, looking over his shoulder.

“They’re over here,” he says and begins walking towards a small convenience store on the other side of the street.

Arianna follows him, her shoes occasionally dragging on the pavement.  The sun is just dipping behind some of the buildings around them, casting a shadow over their bodies as they walk.  From where they are standing, Arianna can make out four men in front of them.  When Pierce glances in their direction, she feels chills run up and down her spine.  A smile curls on his lips, his white teeth almost glowing in contrast with the dark stubble growing on his chin.  She doesn’t recognize the other three men but assumes they are part of his regular group.

“Don’t say anything to him unless I say so,” Harry whispers, guiding his arm around her shoulders.

“Okay,” she replies, trying to keep her voice steady.  She looks up to Harry for reassurance but he is already focused on Pierce’s smiling face.

“Well, what do we have here?” Pierce asks, his voice ripping through the air like a cold wind.

Harry’s muscles contract automatically at the sound of his voice.  His arm tightens around Arianna’s shoulder but she barely notices because at that moment, Pierce’s dark eyes land on her face.

She swallows hard and drops her head to stare at the ground.  It’s almost like she can feel his hard eyes travelling up and down her body and she can feel her hands beginning to shake. 

“I thought you were going to chicken out,” he continues, twirling a lit cigarette between his thin, tattooed fingers.  “Thought I might have to come and get you myself.”

His taunting words ring through the air and Arianna knows Harry isn’t going to hold back much longer.  The moment she feels his arm yank away from her shoulders, she opens her mouth to say something but there is no way of preventing the situation from unfolding.

“Pierce, you know you’re crossing a line right now, so I suggest you shut the fuck up and remember what I told you last night,” Harry growls, covering the short distance between the two groups in a few threatening steps.

“Oh, I’m aware of the words that were exchanged between us last night.  Our deal is vivid in my mind.  However, the reason I asked you to join me here tonight has nothing to do with our little spat,” Pierce replies calmly, bringing the cigarette to his lips and letting it hang there as he smiles around it.  His usually thin lips are puffed up and there is a visible cut on the bottom one.  The remnants of their fight last night are nothing but fuel to the fire for Harry.

“I don’t give a fuck!  You know how I feel about this and you know that I’ll knock your teeth in if you bring it up again!”

“Harry,” Arianna’s plea is quiet over his uproarious yelling.

“Ah, Harry.  You’re always trying to cause a disturbance in my plans.  I really don’t know what to say but that I was expecting it.  But what I wasn’t expecting was for you to bring your little charm along with you.”

“Leave her out of this!” Harry roars, his nostrils flaring. 

Arianna freezes a few steps behind him, her arm outstretched and shaking in mid-air.  Pierce locks eyes with her and she frowns, closing the space between Harry and her and grabbing him by the sleeve.  She drags him backwards a few steps, earning a look of disbelief from him.

The frown falls from her face as she maintains eye contact with Harry.  He stops them from walking, their feet dragging on the ground in a loud shuffle.  Pierce chuckles, the sound causing Harry’s blood to boil.

“Stop!” Arianna warns when she feels his body stiffening again.  He thrashes forward once but her hands grip onto both of his arms, holding him in place as her feet drag on the pavement. 

“Fuck!” he curses, kicking his foot down on the ground.  Arianna releases him and lets him pace back in the direction of the truck, his hands clenched tightly at his sides.

“Tell him to meet us back here once it gets dark,” Pierce says, knocking some of the ashes off of the end of his cigarette.  “By then, he’ll be cooled off and ready to work.”

Arianna considers saying something back to him before she follows after Harry.  She narrows her eyes and purses her lips, her hands clenching and unclenching repeatedly.  When she hears the sound of destruction in the distance, she sighs and walks in the direction of it.

Arianna brings her hand up to cover her mouth when she finds Harry.A quiet gasp escapes her lips and her eyes widen in shock.  Harry is towering over a dumpster, sending several kicks and punches into the metal side.  The sound pierces the air, mixed with his distressed grunts and whispered curses.

Her feet move quickly across the pavement towards him but he doesn’t even seem to notice her arrival.  She pauses a few feet away from him and lifts her hands into her hair, pulling on the ends.  She looks down at the ground and sighs loudly, feeling her throat constrict on itself.  Why did he have to bring her here?  After what happened the other night, she never should have had to see Pierce again.  Now, she can’t get the image of him taunting Harry and her out of her head.  The thought makes her want to be sick.

Harry continues pounding on the dumpster, the sound echoing off the walls surrounding them.  It adds to the faint pounding in the front of Arianna’s mind and she reaches up to clutch her temple in her hand.  Worries spin around in her head, clouding her senses and making her heart thump wildly against her chest.  Her breathing comes out in loud, frantic pants, replacing the sound of Harry’s anger.

Two hands on her sides pull her out of her state.  Her eyes widen as they take in the intensity of Harry’s green ones.  His hands jolt her back into reality as he squeezes her sides and lifts her off the ground.  An audible gasp bursts through her lips as he carries her to the dumpster and sets her down on the edge of the lid.  Her mouth opens to speak but is cut off by his lips enveloping over hers.  He pulls her head down and presses their lips harder together.  She opens her mouth again, trying to get words out but inhales his sharp gasps as he attempts to deepen the kiss.

“Harry,” she mumbles against his lips.

He ignores her and wraps his arms tighter around her body, moving to stand in between her legs.  He moans into the kiss, her head involuntarily moving along with his for a few moments.  His hands race up her back, tangling into her hair.

“Harry, stop,” she whispers into his mouth.  He tugs on her bottom lip, sending waves of pleasure through her body.  “Harry.”

Her words get lost, fizzling like smoke in the air.  His lips reattach onto hers before leaving a wet trail down along her jaw.  She drags her hands down his chest and grips the material of his shirt, tugging downwards.  She inhales deeply, the scent of his skin blurring all of her heighten senses. 

“Ari,” Harry murmurs against her neck, scratching his fingertips against her scalp.

Her eyes shoot open at the sound, her hands reacting before she can stop them.  He looks up at her in shock from the spot she has pushed him to.  His lips are hanging open and his hands are still outstretched towards her like he had teleported there.

After a few moments of silence, Arianna’s loud sigh is the first sound exchanged between them.  Harry seems to snap out of his trance when the noise reaches him, his face falling into his awaiting hands.

“I’m sorry,” he says breathily, shaking his covered face back and forth.

Arianna bites on her bottom lip, the taste of him igniting her senses once more.  “You were upset.  It’s okay,” she reassures him, hopping down from the dumpster.

“No, it’s not.  I shouldn’t have done that.  I’m not thinking clearly.  Pierce got all in my head and I had no one to take it out on.  I’m sorry.”  Harry’s hands slide up into his hair, running frantically through the maze of brown curls.

The rapidly setting sun peeks down behind the buildings, casting a darkness over Harry’s remorseful features.  He stuffs his hands in the front pockets of his jeans and purses his lips, the bottom one protruding slightly. 

“You didn’t mean it,” Arianna says softly and she’s not sure that the words even hit his ears.

“I shouldn’t have brought you here,” he replies quickly, his green eyes hardening their gaze on her face.  “Now, Pierce is just using you as a threat to push me around.”

“He doesn’t scare me,” she lies, crossing her arms tightly over her chest.

“That’s bullshit,” Harry says, rolling his eyes and taking a few steps in her direction.  “I know what he does to you and that just adds to the list of reasons of why I should have left you at home.”

“Home?” Arianna falters to say, her eyebrows rising and falling quickly.

“You know what I mean.  Besides, it’s not important.  What’s important is that I need to get you back to the house before Pierce does something else to piss me off,” Harry explains, rushing his hands through his hair again.

“You can’t.  It’s almost dark and he’s going to need us back over there soon,” Arianna says, standing completely still.  She wants to approach him but is aware that the idea might set him off.

“I don’t have a choice.  This was a bad idea.  Now, I’ve got you all caught up in this mess.  This didn’t even concern you in the first place but I just had to involve you.  I should have just left you at the house.”

“It’s fine, Harry, really.  I’m already in it.  That part wasn’t your fault,” Arianna assures him, ignoring her previous worries and stepping slowly towards him.

“Yes, it was,” he insists, his pleading eyes stopping her in her tracks.  “I brought you here.  I brought you to the party last night.  I knew better and I let you overcome my common sense.  I did that.  Not you.”

Arianna watches motionlessly as Harry’s head shakes slowly back and forth, his lips set in a grim line.  “I agreed to come, here and there.  I don’t blame you-”

“It’s dark.  We should head back over there,” he interjects, turning on his heel and striding towards the end of the alleyway.

“Harry,” she says, her entire body deflating from the lost argument as she watches him disappear around the corner.   

Disappointed, she follows him out onto the street.  The sky is clear above her head, the moon not yet risen in the sky.  A few stars attempt to compensate and light up the darkness around them but only succeed at adding soft light here and there.  Pierce and the other three men are now standing around the side of the convenience store.  Their bodies are almost completely concealed by the shadows. 

Pierce raises his hand and gives an expecting wave to Harry, a satisfied grin on his lips.  He pulls his phone down from his ear, cutting off his conversation and clumsily shoving it into his back pocket.  A new cigarette is pinched between his fingers, the smell of nicotine hitting Arianna as she comes to a stop beside Harry.  She inhales deeply, the comforting scent relaxing her entire body.  Instead of staring at the ground, she looks straight at Pierce, her grey eyes scanning up and down his body and then proceeding to do the same to the other three men.

“I knew you would decide to join us again.  What, with all that’s resting on your shoulders?” Pierce says, his voice holding its regular taunting pitch.  “Smart choice.”

In the silence that follows, Arianna can make out the sound of Harry’s breathing increasing.  She doesn’t want them to fight again so she steps forward and takes charge of the situation.

“What do you want from us, Pierce?  Because if you’re not going to get to the point, we’d like to go home,” Arianna says, her voice demanding and not shaky like she expected.

Harry looks at her in disbelief at the same moment a loud laugh rings from Pierce’s mouth.  She pulls her eyes from Harry’s to look at Pierce in shock.

“Well, this is different.  I’ve never seen any of your girls stand up for themselves before.  It’s almost refreshing.”

“She’s right.  Get to the point,” Harry snaps, his body shifting into defensive mode.

A crooked smile spreads on Pierce’s lips and lifts his cigarette, placing it firmly in his mouth.  Without a word, he turns to face the alley behind him.  The other men move to create a path as he begins casually walking towards a closed dumpster.

Harry clears his throat, impatience sizzling beneath his skin.  Arianna sidesteps once, her eyes glancing at Harry as she reaches out and grasps some material of back of his shirt in her hand.  His eyes remain on Pierce as he scales the dumpster and stands firmly on top of it.

Pierce looks down at them from the dumpster and takes a long drag from his cigarette.  “Your girl is probably confused,” he says, looking straight at Arianna.  “Don’t worry.  It will all become clear soon enough.”

Arianna’s eyes follow him as he steps up to the wall of the convenience store, placing his hands on the top of the flat roof.  She searches his surroundings, curiosity filling her to the brim as he hoists himself up.

“What is he doing?” she whispers to Harry when she notices him walking towards a large, light grey unit.

“He wants us to break in.  That’s what he’s fucking doing,” Harry spits out loud enough for Pierce to hear.

Arianna breathes in sharply, her hand dropping like an anvil from Harry’s back.  Pierce says something back to Harry but the words are mangled by her brain.  She couldn’t have heard him correctly.  There’s no way he would bring her to something like this.

“Are you alright?” Harry’s voice cuts through her moment of panic.

“Fine,” she lies, the word tumbling from her lips before she can even process his question.

“I can take you back to the truck.  You can wait there for me if you don’t feel comfortable being here.  I can let you-”

“No, no,” Arianna replies, crashing back down to earth.  “I’m cool.  I’m good.  You do this all the time.  We’ll just be in and out, right?”

“Are you sure?  I don’t like the idea…”

“I can do this, Harry.  It’s not a big deal.”

She doesn’t know where the sudden confidence is sprouting from.  She isn’t even positive if it is confidence.  It could be just the idea of proving herself to Harry and Pierce or even the adrenaline from not being trapped inside that house.  Whatever the reason, she ends up agreeing to robbery and breaking and entering on a whim.

She ignores the unconvinced sigh that Harry gives her and lifts her gaze back up to Pierce.  One of the men below opens a backpack and tosses a medium sized, electrical wire cutter and a screwdriver to him.

He catches both with each hand and approaches the unit again.  He silently pulls a small flashlight from his jacket pocket and expertly unscrews the small, locked door, letting it fall to the side.  Then he places the wire cutter on the smallest wire and cuts it in half.

Harry sighs again as Pierce stands straight and wipes his hands on his tight, ripped jeans.  His heavy boots stomp on the roof as he walks back to the dumpster.  He crouches and slides back down, creating a loud bang that radiates all the way down the alley and back.

“You could at least be quiet, Pierce,” Harry whispers aggressively, earning a half cocky, half joking smile from Pierce.

Once his feet are back on the pavement, he immediately begins walking to the front door of the store. 

“Now, I get that we are going into this one unplanned and that’s why I want you guys to follow our regular arrangement.  You three, Harry and the girl will go inside and loot for anything interesting.  I will stand guard at the door,” Pierce explains, brushing the end of his cigarette against his lips.

Harry nods his head and then stiffly follows the other men to the front door.  Arianna trails behind, her hands clasped in front of her.  She can feel her limbs shaking with each step she takes but tries her best to remain composed.

Pierce gives an unknown signal with his hand before he opens the door.  Immediately, a blaring alarm sets off.  Arianna gasps and freezes in place while the rest of them walk into the store.

“Ari, don’t worry.  This always happens.  The alarm goes off but Pierce cut the power to stop it from sending anything to the cops,” Harry reassures her, holding out his hand.

She nods repeatedly, her heart racing and her chest feeling like it’s just been trampled.  Her hand reaches out and clasps around Harry’s, earning a slight smile from him.

“Remember, quick in and quick out.  We only have about ten minutes until the cops could show up,” Pierce announces, holding the door ajar with his foot while his eyes scan the street.

Arianna swallows, leaving her mouth feeling completely dry.  Her eyes dart around the small store.  About a dozen shelves are lined up in front of them, filled with novelty items and snacks.  However, the men fan out towards the back of the store, checking in behind the front desk, the cash register and the back room of the store.

“Pierce isn’t interested in shelf items.  He wants valuable things like money, drugs and firearms,” Harry explains quickly while dragging Arianna to the back of the store.

“Guns?”

“Not for himself.  He sells them for inflated prices, same with most of the drugs.”

Arianna nervously runs her fingers through her hair as one of the men tosses Harry a pair of gloves and he pulls them on.  He quickly begins rummaging through a drawer behind the front desk.  He sighs impatiently when he comes up empty and continues searching through the rest of the drawers on that side.

With his hands still empty, he begins wandering towards the back of the shop.  The sound of running footsteps stops him in his tracks.  His eyes snap to his side as the three men scramble out through the back door.

“What the hell?” he whispers, spinning quickly to face the entrance of the store. 

Pierce is no longer standing guard at the door and it only takes a few moments for Harry to realize why.  He pulls on Arianna’s arm and runs them over to the back door as five cops come jogging towards the entrance.

“What’s going on?” Arianna asks as Harry drops them into a crouch behind a shelf next to the back door.  Harry lifts his finger to his lips, silencing her.

“You assholes come out with your hands up!” a man’s voice yells.

Arianna moves to gasp and Harry quickly covers her mouth with his hand.  Her eyes widen, terror flushing over her entire body. 

“It’s okay,” Harry mouths, nodding his head a few times.

“They went out the back,” one of the officers says.

“No.  I saw someone when we were coming in.  We’ll just have to flush him out,” the first officer replies.

Harry inches closer to Arianna so that his lips press against her ear.  He can feel her entire body trembling and wraps his other arm around her to keep her upright.  “We have to slip out the back door and run for it.  On my count,” he whispers, ignoring Arianna violently shaking her head.

He holds up one finger, backing away from her.  She watches as he stands, holding up a second finger.  It’s almost like it happens in slow motion and the scream that rips through her body at the sight of him slipping through the door and leaving her alone doesn’t even reach her own ears.

Two gun shots leave bullet holes a couple inches from the door frame, a visible trail from where he ran.  The sound rings in her ears and she falls to the floor, clutching her knees to her chest.  Tears slide down her cheeks and loud sobs shake her terror stricken body.

She is barely aware of what is happening when one of the officers approaches her and picks her up off of the floor.  Her vision is blurry as he forcefully yanks her hands behind her back and latches handcuffs onto both of her wrists.

Her rights are read to her but she only hears bits and pieces as they walk her outside and back to their squad car.  As she’s sitting on the seat, her head pressed against the glass of the window, her watery eyes wander slightly.  She spots the slightest of movement coming from a group of bushes next to the convenience store.  She lifts her head slowly and blinks several times, trying to see clearer.

Her eyes widen when Harry’s face becomes clear in between the leaves.  Anger replaces the terror within seconds and she glares at him as the cruiser engine starts. 

“Fuck you,” she whispers, mouthing the words so that he would see them as the car starts to drive away.


	30. 29.

The sound of telephones ringing and people shouting help to drown out the angry thoughts that fill Arianna’s head.  The bench under her had become uncomfortable hours ago but she refuses to even move an inch.  Her feet are propped up in front of her, stealing the spot so that none of the other inmates sit too close to her.

This environment is so familiar to her that it doesn’t even faze her.  The bars all around her only remind her of him which only causes the anger to boil even hotter.  Her breathing increases, forcefully in and out of her mouth.  The visible distress earns some questionable looks from a few of the people around her.  She lifts her hands to wipe away tears and lowers her hand shakily when she finds her eyes dry. 

Filled with newfound fury, she clenches her hands into fists and presses them tightly against her forehead.  A shaky breath leaves her lips and she squeezes her eyes shut.  When she realizes that she can’t cry and she can’t yell, she sighs in defeat. 

A few minutes pass as she sits with her head leaning on her hands.  The room around her continues to buzz with noise, an inmate coughing, a police officer buzzing in and the cell door creaking open then slamming shut.  None of it pulls her attention as she sits alone in her corner.

Eventually, she lowers her hands and crosses them on top of her knees.  An old man who is dressed in ratty, old clothes is passed out sleeping on the floor a few feet away from her.  His loud snoring can be heard in moments when the rest of the pandemonium fades away.  She watches him sleep for a few moments, studying his face.  The way his mouth hangs open causing loud snores to rattle his chest reminds her of her father.

The thought of her parents causes the thin wall of strength she’s spent the last few hours constructing to come crashing down.  She might get to see them soon.  She is so unbelievably close to being free from here, from him, from all of this.  All she has to do is tell someone next time they bring her for questioning.  She has to tell them about the abduction, about the other girls, about him.  Before, when they were busy snapping mugshots of her, she kept waiting and waiting for them to recognize who she was.

All this time, she’s been imagining her face being plastered everywhere, on the news, in the papers and most importantly in the police stations.  That’s why she was surprised when they didn’t even seem to notice that she was anyone important.  After that happened, she tried to tell them about it herself but the words got stuck in her throat.  She tried again when they interrogated her.  Her plan was to tell them about him and say that he brought her along to the store with him against her will.  However, when they started asking her questions about it, all she could do was nod and shake her head.  Whatever he has instilled in her made her too terrified to speak.

Now, as she sits on an uncomfortable bench in a crowded holding cell, all she can think about is how insane Harry must be going now that he realized she has escaped him.  When in reality, she should be furious that he left her behind.  She wants to angry at him.  She wants to scream and cry and punch something but she can’t shake the constant thoughts of him coming back to get her.  The worst part of all of it is that a small part of her wouldn’t mind if he did.

The bright fluorescent lights above her head cast sharp shadows beneath her eyes.  The previously smeared makeup has been washed away by her tears and her eyes struggle to remain open.  She tries to fall asleep but with all the noise and strange people around her, she can’t seem to keep her eyes closed long enough to drift off. 

The man on the floor begins snoring louder, causing her eyes to shoot open once again.  She waits for her heart rate to slow down, watching the man’s chest rise and fall until her eyes flutter shut.  The noise around her becomes louder as she begins to doze off, eventually fading into a blur of sounds in the back of her mind.

“Ms. Brinley.  There’s someone here to see you,” a strange woman’s voice rings through her slumber.  She feels pressure on her arm and her eyes crack open, shooting down to look at the woman officer’s hand that is resting on her arm. 

“W-what?” she stammers, her voice coated with sleep.  Her eyes widen in shock and she sits up straight, surprised that words were even able to come out of her mouth. 

“You’re bail has been posted.  Now, if you could come to the door and follow me.  There’s some paperwork for you to fill out,” she explains, gesturing towards the cell door.

Onlookers in the holding cell watch on as Arianna stands up, her joints cracking and popping as she stretches her back out, leaning from side to side.  She runs her fingers beneath both of her eyes and begins walking towards the door, her feet shuffling on the floor.

When the door opens in front of her, the realization of someone being here for her hits her like a train.  Did the officers finally put the pieces together?  Did her parents come for her?  Her eyes rapidly scan the entire room in front of her.  She doesn’t see her parents or anyone else she knows.

The officer clears her throat and signals for Arianna to hurry up.  Arianna forces her feet to move forward and follow her but her eyes continue on their search.  They walk down a short hallway and Arianna watches as the officer lifts a thin card and scans her way through the door at the end of it.  She follows her into another hallway with several doors on both sides.  They walk into the first one on the right.

Arianna’s breath leaves her chest all at once at the sight of Simeon sitting on the other side of small table.  The look of calmness on his face helps her to supress the gasp that threatens to slip through her wide open lips.  He leans back in his chair, his large frame overshadowing the small room as they enter it.

“Have a seat, Ms. Brinley.  We need to go over a few things before you’re impending release,” the woman instructs, pointing at the chair on the same side as Simeon.

Arianna takes a deep breath and tucks her hair behind her ears as she quickly walks over to sit down.  Simeon’s eyes trail her every step and she feels the anxiety seeping out of her skin as she sits down next to him.  She forces a smile in his direction and scoots her chair into the table, the legs scraping against the tile floor.

Arianna looks up at the officer expectantly.  She notices her name tag and puts a name to her pretty, young face.  Officer Zoelle slides a stack of papers across the table to Arianna, spinning them around so that she can read them.

“These are your bail release forms.  I’ll need you to sign them and Mr. Harris to state the amount of bail, along with the date of final payment and to sign beside your name.  I suggest you read over it so you both understand the terms of the agreement,” Officer Zoelle says and takes a sip from her coffee mug.

Arianna pulls the forms closer and scans her eyes over the paragraphs that are neatly typed out in front of her.  There are a lot of terms that she doesn’t understand but she picks up the main points the contract is asking for.  She must agree to attend her court date and not participate in any criminal activities during the time before that date.

She reaches out and snatches a pen from the cup next to her, scribbling her signature on the empty line at the bottom of the second page.  Then she slides it in front of Simeon, her eyes catching his for a second before she looks away.

Out of the corner of her eye, she can see him reading it and then writing on the page and she clears her throat, facing her eyes to the wall behind Officer Zoelle’s head.  She can hear papers shuffling as Simeon hands them back to Officer Zoelle, a quiet hum coming from his lips.

“How long until I can take her home?” he asks, the sound of his voice making Arianna’s fingers jump on the surface of the table.

“Give me a half an hour to process these and you should be able to go,” she answers, taking another sip from her cup and standing from the table with the forms clutched in her hand.  “You can wait in here, in the meantime.  I’ll send someone to escort you out when I’m finished.”

“Okay,” Simeon says, nodding his head.

Officer Zoelle approaches the door, her shoes tapping on the floor and echoing off of the walls.  Simeon shuffles his arms out of his jacket, laying it on the back of his chair.  The door opens and closes, leaving them alone in the small room.

Arianna stays staring at the wall as Simeon turns and studies her.  “I’m so sorry, Arianna.  He’s so sorry that this happened to you.  It wasn’t his intentions for things to happen like this.  You have to believe me,” Simeon pleads, his eyes appearing chocolate brown in the bright lights.

Arianna continues to stare straight ahead silently.  Anxiety sweeps through her, her heart picking up its pace, hammering against her chest and filling her ears with its loud thumping noise.  Her hands clasp together on the surface of the table and her leg begins jumping up and down underneath it.

She doesn’t want to talk to him or listen to him.  It takes all of her courage just to glance in his direction but she doesn’t want to do that either.  She hears him take a deep breath when she doesn’t reply and lean back in his chair again.

She resists the urge to stand up and begin pacing by curling her legs together and continuing to bounce them on her toes.  An uncomfortable silence drapes over the room and Arianna sighs, resting her head down on her crossed arms.

Her eyes remain open and she stares down at the table, her lips popping open and deep, slow breaths coming through them.  It seems insane to think that Harry would have never come back for her.  He said himself that he couldn’t allow her to be free even though he wanted to.  Deep down, this whole time she knew that even if her parents came for her, he would find a way to bring her back to him again. 

Panic sets in again when she realizes that she is going back there.  She doesn’t want to return.  She doesn’t want to have to see Harry again after he left her behind.  Simeon’s lies were too obvious, she knows that Harry isn’t sorry.  He is scared.  He’s terrified that if she gets out of this prison, she will tell people about him and his house in the woods.  He’s afraid that she will ruin him.

However, she still doesn’t know if she should tell the officers.  She could stand up right now, walk out of this room and tell the first person she sees who Simeon really is and what he is trying to do.  But should she? 

If she does, Elaina and Xenia and the other girls will be free, too.  Isn’t that what she’s always wanted, to help them?  This way she will be able to go back to her old life, Teagan and her parents.  She will go off to university on her gymnastics scholarship and compete in nationals in the fall.  She will build a life the way she was supposed to.  One without _him_ in it.

_But should she?_

The door opens suddenly and she jumps in her seat, jerking her head upwards.  She bites her lip and watches a man in a dress shirt and tie approach the table, a small smile on his face.  This is her chance.  She can have all the freedom and power.  She can have a life again.

“Everything is all set,” the man announces, clapping his hands once.  Arianna snaps out of her trance, her eyes shooting from Simeon to the man.  “If you could grab your things, I’ll lead you out.”

Arianna tries to open her mouth but it feels sealed shut as Simeon’s eyes lock on hers.  She feels guilt flood through her and drops her head to the floor.  She can’t do this, not in front of Simeon.  If she doesn’t want someone to get punished, it’s him.  If and when she tells someone, she will makes sure he is left out of it.  He is the only one who has been endlessly kind to her from the start.

Simeon slips his large arms through his jacket sleeves and follows the man and Arianna through the door.  The hallway is empty as they walk, the man pausing to scan through the next door with his badge.  They walk through another hallway and back into the crowded lobby.  A couple officers are struggling to move an inebriated man into the holding cell, his limbs thrashing in every direction.

The man leaves them at the front door of the police station, holding the door for them as they walk outside.  “Don’t forget, you’re court date is in a week.  Attend it so we don’t have to see you back here again,” he says, giving a quick wave to their backs as they walk away.

 

 

 **The entire drive back to the house was made in silence.** Simeon didn’t even bother to turn on the radio.  The engine of the truck comes to a halt in the driveway, sputtering a few times before falling silent.  Simeon’s heavy feet hit the ground as he steps down and shuts the driver’s door behind him.  Arianna sits for a moment alone in the truck, staring up at the big house in front of her.

She doesn’t want to have to face him again.  For a moment, she considers making a break for it.  Maybe she can outrun him this time or maybe Simeon will let her go without telling him.  She shakes her head silently, knowing that it will never work.

Simeon opens her door for her and her eyes shoot up to the house again, half expecting to see Harry storming down the front steps.  Instead, there is no one in sight.  She unbuckles her seatbelt and hops down from the truck, her feet crunching into the gravel.  She examines the house, her eyes running over every detail.  She has the feeling that she won’t be seeing it like this for a while.

Simeon gently grabs her arm, his long fingers curling above her elbow.  She follows him as he guides her towards the house.  She holds her breath as they walk through the front door but there is still no sight of him in the long, dark hallway.  They continue walking past the basement stairs, the bedroom and the bathroom that she used when she was getting ready for the party at the lake house.  He guides her straight to Harry’s studio door and gives her a sympathetic look before turning and walking away, leaving her alone in the hallway.

She stands in front of the door for a few minutes, unsure of whether she should enter or not.  She places her hand on the doorknob, the metal cool on her hot skin.  She takes a few deep breaths in and out, preparing for the fight she is about to have.  Finally, she turns the knob in her hand, pushing it open to reveal the dark and seemingly empty studio.

The sound of a wooden stool scraping on the floor causes her to shriek, her eyes shooting upwards as Harry comes propelling towards her out of the dark.  His hands squeeze her arms and he shakes her slightly, his mouth falling open into a relieved expression.

“I thought I fucking lost you,” he says, gripping her arms tighter.

She stands completely still, her arms straight as boards in his hands and her face frozen in a mixture of shock and fear.  She wants to pull away from him but her feet seem to be glued to the floorboards.  A frantic smile stretches on his lips, his messy hair flopping in a fluffy mass on his forehead.  She knows he is going to hug her or kiss her and she knows she has to pull away before he can do either of those things.

His face falls slightly after she backs away from him, her hand raised and her face assertive.  Her lips fall open when her back runs into a table and she grips the surface with her other hand.  She can feel herself losing her patience with him every second they stand in silence, his eyes plastered to her face.

“I’m so sorry, Arianna.  I know how terrified you must have been being locked up in that place so I had to send Simeon to get you,” Harry says, his hands running through his hair, trying to calm it.

“Why?” she asks, her voice shaking with held back anger.

“You know I can’t be seen,” he defends himself, his voice pleading.

“No, Harry!  Why?  Why did you send him after me at all?  Why couldn’t you have just let me go?  I was free!  I didn’t want to come back here!  I didn’t want to see you!  You should have left me there!” she explodes, pacing back and forth along the table, her eyes like fire every time she looks in his direction.

Harry’s mouth stammers a few times but no words come out.  His face is flustered, his hair standing up in different directions from his fingers trying to flatten it.  “I couldn’t do that.  You know I couldn’t,” he says quietly, his green eyes wide and begging.

“Why couldn’t you?  I had a chance to tell them about you!  You could all be in jail right now!  How did you know I didn’t already tell them about you last night?”

“Because I know you, Ari,” he begs, taking a few steps in her direction.

“Stop!” she orders, holding up her hand again.  “You don’t know me, Harry.  You know nothing about me.  I wanted to tell them from the moment I walked in there,” she says, her voice rough.  “But I couldn’t because you’ve got some fucked up claim over me!”

“I have nothing over you!  If you wanted to tell them, you would have!  So don’t try to blame me for this!” Harry roars, the color flooding quickly back to his cheeks.

“Blame you!  Blame you?  There’s no one else to blame for this but you!  You left me behind and you didn’t try to stop them from taking me!  I even saw you hiding in the bushes while they took me away!  You did that, not me!”

“It’s not my fault!  I just finished saying that!  Do you know what would have happened if they would have caught me?” he questions, his eyes wide and blazing.  “They would have thrown me in jail to rot for the rest of my life!  And then what?  You would have went back to your perfect little family and perfect little life and forgotten all about me!  You would have condemned me!”

“You’re already condemned, Harry!  You managed that a long time before I ever showed up!  Now you’re just making up excuses to blame me again!”

“No, I’m not!  I… I’m not trying to blame you Arianna,” Harry replies, his voice lowering several decibels.

“You are,” she says, sighing in exasperation and pinching the bridge of her nose.  “You hurt me, Harry.  You left me there on the floor when you should have grabbed me and dragged me out of there.  You were only concerned about saving your own ass.  You may not think you hurt me but I’m telling you that you did!  That’s why I don’t want to be here!  That’s why I don’t want to talk to you ever again!”

“I would understand if I did it again.  But this is the first,” Harry scrambles, his hands reaching out towards her as the fire glows hotter in her cheeks.  “The first time I hurt you.”

“Isn’t that enough?” she asks, her voice cracking at the end in exhaustion.

Harry exhales loudly and Arianna rolls her eyes at him.  A momentary silences occurs where they both stand a couple feet apart.  Harry’s head is resting on the palms of his hands and Arianna is leaning with her back against a table, facing the ceiling.

“There was too much going on in that moment.  I didn’t know it was going to happen that way,” Harry says, his voice tired.  He shakes his head a couple times and purses his lips.

“Are you even sorry?” Arianna accuses, resting a hand on her hip.

“Yes,” he breathes, running his hands through his hair and looking directly into her eyes.

“I don’t believe you,” she states, tapping one foot on the floor and crossing her arms over her chest.

Harry takes another deep breath then snags his bottom lip in his teeth, staring up at the ceiling.  The tension in the room grows as he clenches his fists, the veins on his arms popping up.  Arianna knows an explosion is coming but she remains in her defensive position, counting down the seconds in her head.

He exhales loudly again and the sound cuts through the air like a knife, lingering in their ears like an echo.  She feels her body tense up when his ice cold eyes make contact with hers but she still holds her stance.

“I-” his voice cuts off before he can go further.  His facial features harden and he turns and storms out of the room.

His feet move quickly as he turns to the left and runs up the stairs.  He sprints to the door at the end of the hall and bursts through it, letting the door bounce off the wall.  He moves straight for his bed, clutching the blankets and throwing them towards the end of it.  Then he grabs his pillows and thrusts them one at a time into the opposite wall.

When the bed is bare, he bends over and leans with his fists pressed into the mattress.  He inhales sharply through his mouth and exhales loudly through his nose as his entire body shakes.  The anger ripping through him is overpowering and he wants to do something to alieve it but he doesn’t know what can.  His wide eyes dart around the room, searching for something to break or burn.  His eyes scan the wall where several dents already sit in the wood.  Most of his shelves are empty, the objects that used to sit on them broken a long time ago.

He grunts when he can’t find anything worth his while and opts for punching the mattress instead.  He climbs on top of it and crouches down, throwing punch after punch until sweat drips from his forehead and rolls into his eyes.  He rips his t-shirt over his head and uses it to wipe the sweat away before casting it into the laundry bin.

Then he flops down on his back, his chest heaving up and down.  His forehead is still glistening in the dimly lit room and he can feel the moisture from his back sinking into the sheets.  The cold air from the fan turning on his ceiling hits his skin and sends goosebumps erupting over his arms and legs.

He waits a few minutes to cool down, the anger barely present anymore.  He tries to push every thought of Arianna from his mind.  Even though all his mind wants to do is think about where is she right now and if she’s still angry with him.  He rolls onto his side, bending his arm to make a cradle for his head.  The smell of sweat reaches his nose and he crinkles it, grabbing the comforter and tossing it over his body.

Without the allowance of another thought, he forces his eyes closed and orders his body to slow down his breathing.  If he can’t think about her, his only other option is to sleep.  His body is already riddled with exhaustion from spending the night before pacing in his studio, drinking leftover stores of vodka and cursing at himself for letting Arianna get taken away from him in the first place.

 

 

 **The lake is visible through the trees in the distance as he walks.** His large feet stumble and slide as he travels down the hill, a flashlight the only thing lighting his path.  Thunder rumbles in the distance and occasionally, he feels a drop of rain hit the end of his nose.  He pulls his jacket hood up and over his head, shielding himself from the strong wind that is blowing towards him.

A flash of lightning illuminates the lake, followed by a loud crack of thunder that radiates all the way to his bones.  He is only a few meters away from the water’s edge and the sound of churning waves reaches his ears.  His feet sink into the damp ground as he approaches the bank, his toes hovering over the edge.

He uses his flashlight to examine the water in front of him, the surface blacker than the night air surrounding him.  He looks to both of his sides and then once behind him.  A nervous sigh escapes his lips even though he knows that he is alone.

He walks to his right a few steps, mud squelching beneath his black running shoes.  A couple more drops of rain fall, dotting his face with moisture.  He pauses and turns to face the water again, looking as far ahead as he can see.  He knows he is here for a reason but he can’t remember what it is.

More thunder claps in the distance, causing his heart to jerk in his chest.  He readjusts his footing and feels something heavy on his back.  He turns to check it out and gasps at the sight of a large, black bag draped over his shoulder.  His hand automatically releases it and it falls to ground, encasing itself in mud.

Harry backs away from it a few steps, never taking his eyes off of it.  When the bag twitches, his heart stops momentarily in his chest.  He lifts his hands to wipe his eyes and make sure he isn’t seeing things.  The bag continues to move, faster and stronger, thrashing outwards into the air.  A few seconds later, a blood curdling scream emanates from it, ripping him from his sleep.


	31. 30.

The minutes pass by, changing constantly on the alarm clock next to her bed but Arianna doesn’t seem to notice.  She keeps replaying the scenes from the last twenty four hours in her head.  Sometimes, she even finds herself going back further than that.  Ever since she was brought here so many months ago, she hasn’t stopped replaying the moment of being taken in her head.  All of the possibilities of how it could have gone differently constantly running through her mind, especially in her sleep.

Xenia shuffles around on the foot of Arianna’s bed, scooting over to rest her back against the wall.  “What should we do about this?” she asks, laying her arms straight out on her bent knees.

“Wait it out?” Elaina suggests, her shoulders shrugging from the spot where she stands in her window.

“She hasn’t moved for hours.  She won’t say what happened and I’m starting to get worried,” Xenia persists, running a hand over the blankets and resting it on top of Arianna’s ankle.

“She’ll pull out of it eventually.  If not, then we’ll intervene.”

Elaina lifts her thin arms, tying her auburn hair up into a high bun.  She looks through her window for a few more seconds before she turns and walks to sit on her bed.  Xenia sighs and lies down next to Arianna on her side.  She brushes her fingers through Arianna’s dark hair, removing the small tangles in it with her fingertips.

“He did this to her,” Xenia says quietly, continuing her soothing movements.

“He’s done this to all of us.  Believe me, I’ve been there before.  She’ll snap out of it and then she’ll be ready to tell us what happened,” Elaina assures her, pulling a pair of jeans up her legs.

“This time is different.  He did something horrible to her.  I know he’s done horrible things before, but this time is different.  I know it,” Xenia insists, draping her arm over Arianna’s stomach and pulling her close.

Arianna doesn’t move muscle as she holds her, she doesn’t even change her breathing.  After the fight, she had expected cries of pain to rip through her body but she didn’t even shed a tear.  He’s broken her so badly that she can’t even cry over the things that hurt her anymore.  The anger towards him has transformed into numbness and she wants more than anything to feel something, even if it’s pain. 

“She’s tough.  I taught her to be tough.  You don’t have to worry about it until I start worrying about it,” Elaina says, standing from her bed again.

She paces across her cell, sipping water from a half empty bottle.  She stops at the front of the cell and presses her forehead against the bars, peering all the way to the basement door.  She isn’t worried about Arianna’s state but she does plan to stop Harry if he tries to come near her while she’s like this.

She grabs one of the bars with her hand and sighs, looking down at the floor.  These types of things always happen here.  Eventually, Harry tries his hardest to destroy every one of them.  Some of them, like Elaina, try their best not to show that it’s succeeded but it’s impossible to avoid it forever.

When the door doesn’t open after a few minutes, Elaina walks back to her bed and sits down, letting out a long sigh.  She can hear Xenia whispering words of encouragement to Arianna and she shakes her head slowly.  It’s not that she doesn’t care about Arianna.  She just hates how this has happened to her, even with the warnings she gave her about Harry.  Deep down, she always knew that Arianna would ignore her advice.  She just wanted to help him so badly, like so many girls before her have tried.  Elaina doesn’t even have the heart to tell her that he won’t allow the help.

The whispering stops and silence settles down throughout the basement.  Its eerie how there are so many people down here but it can still be completely silent at times.  With the lack of noise, scrambling coming from upstairs becomes evident.  Voices yell and feet stomp quickly in several different directions.  It takes Elaina a few seconds to realize they are coming down the stairs.

The voices stop talking while their feet pound loudly on every step.  She stands up and runs to the front of the cell just as the basement door comes flying open.  Nitro rushes in, the blond girl from the first cell being shoved through the door in front of him.  Despise rises in her when she spots Harry following them in.

He heads straight for Arianna’s cell, his feet moving quickly across the floor.  Elaina grabs her water bottle and screws off the cap, ready to toss it onto him as a distraction.

“What the hell is going on?” Eliza asks, her voice echoing through the basement.

“All I know is someone fucking died!” Nitro screams at her, slamming the cell door closed and turning to run up the basement stairs.

Elaina pauses mid-throw, some of the water splashing onto the floor at her feet.  At the same moment, Arianna jolts up in her bed, Xenia’s arms shooting off of her.  Arianna watches as Harry approaches her cell door, his hands fumbling with the key as he tries to jam it in the lock.  His face is red and his eyes are wild as they meet hers.

He pushes the door open and steps inside the cell.  “Come with me,” he orders, his voice slightly strangled.  Arianna remains seated, staring at him in shock.  “Just come with me!”

She stands immediately, the urgency in his voice shooting straight to her core.  Her feet carry her to the door, every step causing the anxiety in her to rise.  She knows this isn’t good.  Whoever is dead is a big deal and nothing good is going to come from this.

She follows him towards the door, ignoring Elaina when she reaches through the bars and lightly touches her arm.  Her head remains straight as she walks past all the cells, basically jogging to keep up with Harry.  They scale the stairs quickly and head into the kitchen.  Harry walks straight for the counter and grabs an empty glass, shattering it into pieces in the sink.

Arianna jumps slightly at the sound and watches as he leans over the sink, his body heaving up and down with each breathe he takes.

“Who is it?” she asks, her voice shaking.

Harry turns his head into his shoulder, trying to control his breathing.  “Simeon,” he answers, his voice monotonous.

Arianna’s whole body freezes, her eyes the only thing moving as they blink slowly.  Everything starts moving in slow motion.  It’s like his name hasn’t even reached her ears, caught in the air between them, but she knows it’s coming.  She knows that Simeon is the one who died. 

“Car crash,” Harry adds, turning around fully and leaning with his back on the counter.

Arianna lifts her gaze to study his face as tears begin to well in her eyes.  He doesn’t even look sad.  His face is still flushed but there are no tears in his eyes, no sadness in his voice.  The sight makes her want to walk across the room and strangle him.

“He was your friend!” she exclaims, tears pouring down her cheeks.  “He was your- You don’t even care!”

“I told you before.  He was never my friend,” he says, shaking his head.

Arianna lifts her hand to wipe her nose, fury burning throughout her entire body and igniting her stormy, grey eyes.  “He cared about you!  He cared about all of us!  He doesn’t deserve this from you!  He was the only good thing in this entire place and you don’t even care!”

“Arianna-”

“Did you kill him?  Is this your fault?!”

“No, of course not.  Why would you even think that?”

“You said you would kill me!  You said that to me once!  How am I supposed to believe you?” she screams, her face contorting in fury as tears continue to overflow onto her cheeks.

“You just have to.  I didn’t kill him.  I think Pierce did,” Harry replies, causing Arianna’s eyes to widen in shock.

“I have to leave,” she says after a few moments of silence.  “You can’t keep me here, not anymore.  Not after this.”

“You know I can’t do that.  You’re too much of a risk, especially now,” Harry explains, pushing himself off of the counter and walking towards her.

She takes several steps backwards into the hallway.  “Let me go home!” she shouts, the sound of it ripping straight through Harry.

“You can’t leave me!  I won’t let you go!  You’re staying right here, whether Simeon’s dead or not!” Harry yells, the redness creeping back up in his face.

“Stop it!  I don’t want to hear you say his name, he was my friend and I won’t be here without him!”

“Yes, you will!  You don’t have a choice!”

Arianna opens her mouth to yell again but stops herself, the anger radiating through her and making her see red.  She turns towards the front door, seeking the only escape she has.  She starts running towards it, Harry right on her heels.  She grabs the lock in her hands, yanking on it and sobbing loudly, her entire body shaking.

Harry’s arms wrap around her and he lifts her and places her down in front of him.  She clutches her face in her hands and looks at the floor, loud gasps escaping her lips.

“You’re not leaving,” Harry states, his voice hard.

“You can’t keep me here,” Arianna forces through her teeth, dropping her hands from her face.  “I don’t trust you!  I don’t feel safe here!  I never have!  Now it’s worse because someone died!  I have to leave before it happens to me!”

“I wouldn’t let that happen!  You know I wouldn’t!”

“Do I?  You let Simeon die!  You didn’t do anything to save him and now you’re going to just forget he even existed!  Don’t pretend you wouldn’t do that to me, too.”

The blame in her words cuts into him and he throws his hands into his hair, tugging on the ends and clenching his teeth together.  This isn’t his fault and he’s not going to be blamed once again for something he didn’t do.

“Arianna, stop!” he roars, slamming his hand against the wall a couple feet away from her body.  She gasps and backs into the wall.  “Just stop!  You’re not going to corner me like you always do!  I’m not going to let you put the blame on me and tell me how I’m feeling!  So go ahead and cry!  Go ahead and leave if you want to!  I’m not going to try and stop you anymore because I’m fucking tired of it!”

Harry turns on his heel and paces into the kitchen without another word.  Arianna remains against the wall, her heart hammering in her chest and tears soaking her cheeks.  Harry returns a couple seconds later with a phone clutched tightly in his hand.

“Take this phone, call someone and leave,” he says, his voice rough as he shoves it into her hand.

She lifts it shakily and pulls her eyes away from his face.  “I-”

“Arianna, please don’t make this harder than it has to be,” Harry sighs, an exasperated smile on his face.

She lifts the phone slowly again and pauses, looking up at him.  “You’re really letting me do this?” she asks in a strangled voice.

Harry nods his head, avoiding looking in her direction.  She turns on the phone, her finger hovering over the numbers.

“What are you going to tell them?” Harry asks, his voice flat.

“I don’t know.  I’ll think of something,” she answers, beginning to dial her parent’s phone number.

“You’ll keep me safe?” he asks, surprised.

Arianna pauses halfway through the number and exhales quietly through her mouth.

“I don’t have a choice.”

She finishes dialing the number as Harry pinches the bridge of his nose and stares at the floor.  It rings a few times, the sound echoing through the silence in the air between them.  Arianna’s mouth is open, ready to talk the moment someone picks up the phone.

“Hello?”

“Dad?”

“Arianna?”

“It’s me, Dad,” she says, relief washing over her body.  “It’s me.  I’m okay.  I’m okay.”

“Where are you?  I’ll send the police.  I’ll come and get you myself.  Just tell me where you are.  Oh my god.  Lilly!  Lilly!  Come here, I found our baby!  It’s our baby!”

A smile overtakes Arianna’s face, giving off an audible sound.  Harry watches her cautiously but doesn’t move from where he’s standing.  More tears stream down her cheeks as Lilian’s voice rings through the phone.

“Mom?” she sobs, the phone shaking in her trembling hand.

“Sweetheart?  Oh, Arianna!  I’m so sorry, my baby.  I’m so sorry that this happened to you.  We’re getting in the car right now and we are coming to get you.  Do you know where you are?”

“Yes.  I-” she pauses, flustered and turns towards the front door. 

“I’m on a highway just outside of Michigan.  I’m not sure which one and I don’t know how I got here,” she lies, turning back to face Harry.  His green eyes are calm now and she can see the gratitude growing behind them.

“Alright.  Alright.  We’re coming.  Just stay where you are and be careful.  We’ll find you,” Lilian says frantically, the tears evident in her voice.

“Okay.  I’ll wait right here,” Arianna sighs.  “I’ll wait.”

“Alright,” her mom says, pausing for a moment.  “Maybe we should stay on the phone.  Then you won’t be scared.  How about that?”

Arianna opens her mouth to reply but pauses, glancing at Harry.  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.  My phone is almost dead and if it dies, I won’t be able to get back in touch with you.”

“Okay.  Okay, baby.  If you’re sure.  We’re coming now.  Just remember to stay there.  We’ll be there as fast as we can.”

“Okay.  I love you, Mom.”

“We love you too, sweetheart.  I’m just so glad you’re safe.”

“Me too,” she replies, smiling and hanging up the phone.

She tucks it in her back pocket and looks up at Harry, his face solemn and apologetic.  A sigh pushes through her lips and she reaches up to wipe her wet cheeks. 

“I’m going home now, Harry,” she says, trying to keep her voice steady.

“Please, don’t do that.  Don’t,” he scrambles, grabbing her heartstrings and stretching them as far towards him as they will go.

She sighs again, directing her eyes to the floor.  She can’t let him in again.  As much as she wants to, her hatred towards him after the last couple days is too strong.  He took the last bit of fight she had left and crushed it under his shoe.  And the worst part is, he isn’t even that sorry about it. 

“I have to,” she says, standing up straighter and glancing at the door.

“At least let me drive you to the highway,” he pleads, following her as she walks towards the front door.

“No.  I think it’s better if I walk there,” she replies, standing back and pointing at the lock on the door.

A frown creases in his forehead and for a moment, she thinks he might change his mind and lock her back in the basement again.  However, he curses under his breath and grabs the lock, sliding the numbers for the combination with his fingers.  He opens the door for her, the gloomy weather pouring inside and bringing down their moods even further.

Arianna looks up at him, her heartstrings straining again at the sight of the desperation on his face.  He is a psychopath, she tells herself.  He is a psychopath and nothing good will come from staying here.

“Goodbye, Harry,” she whispers, her lips dry as they make contact to form the words.

Before he has the chance to respond, she walks out onto the front porch and down the steps.  The sound of the front door slamming shut causes her to jump and look over her shoulder.  The urge to go back to him fills her again but she forces herself to push it back down. 

She turns back to face the driveway in front of her and takes a deep breath.  Then she does what he’s always been afraid of.  She leaves him.

 


	32. 31.

The sun is shining bright, the heat sweltering for the first time in months.  Its rays slip under the porch awning and are hitting Harry directly in the face.  He adjusts his sunglasses, pushing them higher up his nose and sighs.  Sweat coats his bare arms and the loose, black tank top he is wearing is stuck to his body in certain places.  The heat doesn’t seem to affect him, though and he continues to sit in the same spot for hours just to spite it.

The cold beer that is grasped in his hand leaves a small puddle of condensation in the crook between his thumb and pointer finger.  He lifts it to his mouth and takes a short sip, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.  He has a deep sigh and leans back on the porch swing, resting his head against the house and closing his eyes.

It’s been two weeks since she’s left him and now, nothing is the same.  He no longer has something to look forward to when he wakes up in the morning.  He doesn’t feel the red hot anger surge through his body after they have a fight.  There is no longing to hold her and kiss her to make her forget what they were fighting about in the first place.  It’s like she was never even here in the first place, only a figment of his fucked up imagination.

He forces his eyes open for a moment, staring up the underside of the awning.  His heart is beating dully in his chest, the sound thumping in his ears.  He is glad to hear the sound because it seemed for so long that it was gone, broken and shattered into a million irreparable pieces.  His eyes look forward and he scans the yard.  The lonely, unused vehicles are sunbathing in the driveway and a few broken bottles are lying in the grass.

“I guess I should stop throwing those.  Soon, there’s going to be a junkyard out there.  Simeon was always the one who made me pick them up,” he says, for a moment forgetting there is no one beside him.

His heart stutters in his chest as he glances at the empty spot next to him.  He isn’t sure if the fact that she isn’t there or that Simeon is dead is the reason behind the sudden sadness rushing through him.  He runs his hand over his face, rubbing his eyes with thumb and finger.  The feeling persists, violently pushing and shoving to make its way front and center even though all he wants to do is shove it away.

He takes a deep breath and drops his hand, glancing at the empty spot beside him once more.  It’s like he can see her there, long legs crossed with a cigarette dangling from her fingertips.  Her face changes from anger to amusement as he cracks a joke and he feels the sadness rush away and comfort take its place.

That’s what he feels when she is there beside him.  He feels safe and content, even when they are screaming at each other, he still has the comfort of knowing she is nearby and will forgive him in an instant if he asks.  But now everything is flipped upside down.  She’s no longer nearby and she won’t forgive him no matter what he tries.  She hates him for what he has done to her and she now has the reigns in her hands, steering him whichever way she desires.

The thought of her being gone brings the anger shooting back up in his chest.  He stands up from the swing so quickly that the force of it sends it flying into the side of the house.  The beer in his hand spills slightly as he walks, leaving a trail behind as he goes to the railing and slams it down.  Then he turns and jogs down the porch steps.  Gravel crunches loudly beneath his feet as he storms towards the grass.  A lonely, moss covered statue is standing next to a small apple tree in the far end of the yard.  Harry makes his way directly for it, the anger coursing through his veins fueling his feet to move faster.

When he reaches it, he lifts both of his hands and shoves it over onto the ground.  The top portion breaks off and rolls a few feet away before falling over on its side.  He raises his foot and stomps down on it with his heel, a loud grunt bursting through his lips.  Sweat drips down from the tips of his hair onto his forehead, running down and off of his chin.  He lifts his hand and quickly swipes it across his heated skin, looking down at the mess he’s made.

In a fluster, he turns his gaze back towards the house then back to the woods.  He feels like someone is watching him even though there is no one around.  The girls are all locked away in the basement and he sent Nitro home for the day.  His brow lowers as his face wrinkles into a frown, his eyes squinting at the front door. 

Everything about this house is enraging him further.  Part of him wants to never look at it again.  If he could only just walk away and never return he would.  The thought has crossed his mind plenty of times in the last couple weeks.  He kept thinking he should give all of the girls to Pierce, burn the fucking house to the ground and leave town without a trace.  But there was always something holding him here, a whisper in the back of his mind telling him over and over that she might come back to him.  And he couldn’t stand the idea of her showing up here to nothing but forest and ashes.

He continues glaring in the direction of the house, his feet beginning to carry him towards it subconsciously.  Frustration rips through him as he scales the front steps, forcing his hands to smack against the front door.  His breath hitches in his throat and he looks up, pausing for a moment.  This is what always happens.  The anger comes like an angry wildfire and goes without a warning.  It’s constant, even in his sleep he dreams about destroying everything and wakes up to only feel to guilty about what he’s done. 

His breathing resumes, escalating into quick, sharp exhales as he approaches the porch railing.  The resentment that he feels towards himself is always shadowed by animosity towards her.  He mixes up the two sometimes but right now they are absolutely clear in his head, separated like land and water.  They are both to blame for what’s happened and even if he is slightly more to blame than her, she still is the one who chose to leave him.

The memory of her walking alone down his driveway flashes before his eyes and he lashes out at the first thing he sees.  Reaching down, he picks up the beer bottle off of the railing and looks out across the lawn.  He grips the neck of the bottle tighter and swings his arm, tossing it onto the front lawn.  It hits the ground a few meters away and bounces on the grass, the neck of it breaking off and shattering into smaller pieces.

He lifts his hands to his face and groans into them repeatedly, pacing around the small porch.  Heat from the sun and anger continue to consume him and he yells out, connecting his fist into the wooden banister on the steps.  He winces and breathes out once, letting his hand fall to his side.  He’s screaming at the top of his lungs, so why is it that no one can hear him?

He breathes in and out one more time, swiping more sweat off of his forehead and then he spins on his heel, storming into the house.  The sound of the door being slammed shut behind him rings in his ears as he rushes down the hallway.  His eyes remain forward and his feet pound on the dirty, hardwood floor as he approaches the bathroom.  He turns abruptly and enters it, leaving the door wide open behind him.  He heads straight for the sink, breathing heavily as he twists the taps and shoves his hands under the cold water.  He brings large amounts of it up to his face, washing away the sticky layer of sweat and dirt that has imbedded itself in his skin. 

The cold water brings relief to his hot skin and sends goosebumps erupting over his back.  When he is finished, he bows his head, the water still running full blown from the tap.  His hands clutch the edges of the countertop and he closes his eyes, water from his hair dripping down into the sink.

His breathing slows and increases, repeating the pattern as he stands motionless for a few minutes.  He can feel the sadness consuming him again, encapsulating his heart and chest and he doesn’t want it.  He stands quickly before the tears can form in his eyes, a sharp breath cutting through the air.  The sound of the water ceases when his hands shut it off and he walks quickly from the bathroom to his studio across the hall.

The dark room engulfs him as he steps over the threshold, filling him with desolation.  He reaches out his hand and fishes around for the light switch on the wall.  When he finds it, the room illuminates with soft, white light.  He sighs, the sound lifeless and disheartened and he looks around the space in front of him.  He hasn’t been back inside here since the night she left and the disaster of ripped paintings and spilled utensils he made is still laid out in front of him. 

He slowly makes his way into the middle of the room, the heels of his shoes clicking on the hardwood floor.  His eyes trace over the shredded paper at his feet and anger flourishes inside of him once more.  He doesn’t know what hurts more, the fact that she is gone or that she caused him to destroy some of his favorite paintings in the process.  He bends over and picks up a piece of canvas, staring at the mixture of lines and paint before angrily tossing it away.  It flutters a few feet away and lands silently on top of a loosely closed paint bottle.

Harry quickly walks towards it and lifts it up, setting it on top of the workbench.  A forgotten canvas immediately catches his eye.  The sight of Arianna’s drawing staring up at him makes him feel sick.  His lips set into a firm line and he pulls his eyes away from it.  The hours spent creating the perfect portrait of her are not easily forgotten.  He wanted it to represent her in everything that she was, even the parts she hated.  That night that he painted her, she was full of fire and beauty.  He wanted to capture everything and now that it is finished, he can’t even stand to look at it.

His throat constricts and he clenches and unclenches his fists.  He refuses to cry because of this.  He never cries and she is not going to make him start.  He bites down on his bottom lip and tenses his entire body, but the sadness persists.  He redirects his watery eyes to the paint bottle sitting on the table in front of him and does the only thing he can think to do.  He transforms his sadness into rage.

He swings his clenched fist and knocks over the paint bottle on top of Arianna’s painting with one blow.  The top flies open from the impact and black paint appears, running onto the canvas and slowly masking all of his hard work.  He watches as it pours out and drops, splattering into a colorless puddle at his feet.

It takes a few moments, but once the realization of what he’s done hits him, he gets pummeled with another round of guilt.  His arms lift and he takes a deep breath, running his hands through his hair and down his face.  The waves come quickly, pounding into him one after the other.  They drown him slowly as he tries to hold air in his lungs but they are too strong and eventually, he gives up. 

He falls to his knees on the floor, the paint soaking into his shoes and jeans but he doesn’t notice.  He leans his elbows on his thighs and digs his fingers deeply into his hair, his teeth clenching tighter than he thought was possible.  A dry, almost soundless sob breaks through his lips as two tears race down his cheeks.  Still, he refuses to give in and let go completely.  He remains in his defeated position on the floor, trying with all his resolve to not fall completely apart. 

The room feels like it is pushing in on him and he is growing smaller and smaller.  Almost like all the universe wants to do is squash him like bug under its boot.  And the thing is, he’s so used to being the one who dominates over everyone.  This is not him, he is not the type of man who does this.  He rules everything and everyone he comes across.  At least, that was true until she decided to take control and give him a taste of his own medicine.

At the thought of her, pain and anger tears through him.  There is nothing more in the world he wants than to be rid of her and have her at the same time.  It’s the most frustrating dilemma he’s ever had to face and there is no one around that can help him through it. 

Tears fall heavily from his eyes after finally deciding it wasn’t worth it trying to fight himself anymore.  The pain of her disappearing and the anger at himself has no escape but misery.  He falls further down on his knees, his tear soaked hands trembling against his forehead.  He allows himself to be weak, just this one time.  At least, that’s what he hopes will happen.

 

 

 **The fan above his head is creaking tonight** and the sound isn’t helping to ease the annoyance that is already filling his every crevice.  Harry pushes his head further into his pillow and sighs, the sound blowing out through his puffed, pink lips.  The last couple days have been filled with alcohol, smoking, sex and more alcohol.  However, he has yet to find a remedy that will still the pain that continues to radiate from his chest.

His phone screen lights up on the bedside table and he tilts his head to stare in its direction.  He can’t see the name of the person calling him from his position and he chooses to ignore it, rolling his head back to face the obnoxious fan.  Its blades spin faster and faster as his eyes stare straight into the middle.  After a few seconds, the sight of it becomes a blur, his eyes growing tired.

He shuts them and exhales loudly, clasping his hands on his bare abdomen.  The sound eventually becomes mute and he drifts off quickly into a dream filled sleep.

His heart automatically begins racing faster when the scenery of the lake settles down all around him.  The sun is high in the sky and there is a flock of geese flying in his direction, honking loudly in chorus with each other.  He examines his surroundings, sweeping his eyes back and forth over the lake in front of him.  He is positive that it’s the same lake he always dreams about.  He could never forget what this place looks like.  It’s the place where he left her.

He takes a step towards the lake, curious as to why it is daylight when he always visits it at night in his dreams.  The grass is green and more vibrant than he imagined.  He always pictured it to be dead and dry in the presence of the sun.  It blows lightly in the breeze that ruffles his short, curls.  He looks forward again, pausing in surprise when he sees the sun setting rapidly, almost like he is in fast forward.  He turns his head and watches the moon rising quickly to replace the nearly set sun.  The sky changes from orange to pink to a dark blue above his head.  He starts walking backwards, his eyes never drawing away from the lake.

A gasp slips through his lips when his back hits a tree.  His hands shoot against it, running over the rough bark but he doesn’t move away.  He is too fixated on the figure of a girl walking out of the water towards him.  The moonlight shimmers across the surface of the water, causing her hair to glow blonder than he remembers.

She moves slowly and smoothly, the water lapping to caress her thin legs as she exits the water.  She is wearing a flowing, blue dress that ends at her knees and leaves her shoulders bare.  Harry continues to stare motionless as she approaches him, his previously hammering heart nearly still in his chest.  Her bare feet leave a gentle trail in the grass as she walks towards him, everything about her nimble and whole.  She isn’t the broken, crazed girl he created.  Her pace changes when she gets within a few feet of him, a smile stretches on her lips and she runs towards him.  With her arms outstretched, she falls into him, hugging him tightly.

“It took you long enough to get here,” she says, playfully, squeezing him tighter.

His arms move like a reflex, gently wrapping around her back.  A small smile grows on his face and he tilts his head.  “Well, you know you were always my least favorite,” he jokes, dropping his arms when she pulls away from him.

“I know,” she replies, still smiling.

Harry sighs and the happiness drains from his face.  “I’m sorry that this happened to you, Valerie.”

“It would be weird if you weren’t,” she replies, punching his arm playfully.  He shrugs in response and looks down at the ground.  “Look, don’t worry about it, okay?  You tried to do what was best for me and it’s not your fault that I stopped trying on my end.  I’m better now, trust me.”

“How can you be better?  You’re dead!  Simeon died and you-”

Harry’s voice cuts off, his hand dropping from his forehead and his eyes meeting her dark, green ones.  They show no sign of blame or sadness and he is surprised.

“Killed myself?” she finishes for him, watching him as he walks away from the tree, kicking at a twig on the ground.

“I never intended for anyone to die when I started this.  But it happened and there is no one to blame but me.”

“You’re right.  I should blame you, but I don’t.  Honestly, you made my life more interesting if anything.  Remember, before I met you I was a lonely, twenty year old spending nights in blogging and non-stop texting my ex.  If anything, you’re the one who saved me.”

“I didn’t fucking save you!  I destroyed you!” he snaps, spinning to face her.

“Look, we don’t have much time so let’s not spend it fighting, okay?” she says, courageously approaching him and placing both of her hands on his shoulders.

She lowers her hands and Harry reaches up and wipes his nose with his fist.  The anger drains from him as quickly as it had appeared.  He looks at Valerie and rolls his eyes at the sight of her smiling up at him.  She always was just crazy enough to push his buttons but not make him snap at her.  This time should be no different but he can’t shake the guilt he feels for putting her where she is now.

“Aren’t you going to ask me what I’ve been up to?” she asks, cocking her head to the side.

Harry chuckles slightly and ruffles his fingers through his hair.  “Probably terrorizing and haunting some unlucky guy every other night,” he assumes, a smile finding its way back onto his face.

“You’re lucky it’s not you,” she retorts, laughing.  “Speaking of terrorizing you.  I hope you have someone keeping you on your toes while I’m not there.”

She didn’t even have to say her name, just the idea of her was enough to send his mood plummeting back to zero.

“Why do you look like you’re missing someone?  It’s not me, is it?”

He shakes his head, his voice cracking when he replies, “No, it’s not you.”

A short silence overlaps them, the waves in the lake lapping loudly against the shore.  “How did you lose her?” Valerie asks, her voice no louder than a whisper.

“I was an idiot.  Repeatedly.  I don’t blame her for leaving.  I gave her an out and she took it.  I was afraid that if she stayed, she might end up like you.”

“You let her leave?”

He nods his head and purses his lips.  “She tried to escape once, just like you did.  That’s the first moment I became afraid for her.  I was angry too, of course.  I thought she was planning inside her head to leave me, just like you did.”

“Oh, Harry.  You never cared about me like that, though,” she says, shaking her head.  “And this is different.  Her story will be different from mine because you let her go.”

Harry remains silent as Valerie closes the distance between them and wraps her arms around his neck.  “Now, you just have to wait and see how your story will end.  You might find one together or apart.  That’s not up to me or you but if she cares about you the way you care about her, you might still have a chance.”

Harry feels slightly soothed and slightly saddened by her words.  She leans closer towards him and his eyes flutter closed.  He feels her warm lips press lightly against his cheek and when he opens his eyes again, he is staring up at the noisy fan once more.


	33. 32.

The bright sunlight greets Arianna as she pushes open a door and steps outside.  Her heels click loudly against the cement steps as she walks down them, the relief she should be feeling still not catching up with her.  She pauses at the bottom of the steps and turns around, shading her eyes with her hand and squinting up at the court house.

The street behind her is bustling with the loud, ordinary noise of a Chicago afternoon.  She tunes out most of the noise, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath in and out.  The worst of it is over, her bail has gone through and she has been released and all charges have been dropped.  For a moment, she worried that they would have called Simeon to testify or sign another document but her lawyer immediately reassured her that they could get away without him.

She opens her eyes and takes another breath, steadying her shaking hands at her sides.  She spins on her heel and faces the street.  Her eyes scan the area in front of her and she is surprised when she doesn’t spot Teagan among the crowd.  Even though she couldn’t tell Teagan about the court date, she had told her to meet her in the square after she was finished with it. 

She scans the street once more, scratching her legs together.  The black tights she’s wearing are uncomfortable and if it wasn’t for the tattoos dotting her ankles, she would have gladly came without them.  When she is positive she doesn’t see her, she sighs and slides her purse off of her shoulder, digging inside it for her phone.

Pulling it out, she turns it on and scans through her messages.  There are two from her mother, plus a missed phone call, one from her dad and two from Teagan.  She swipes on Teagan’s first, opening up a long list of chats exchanged between the two of them.  Her eyes scan over the words and she bites on her lip as she reads.

_Hope the job interview went well.  I sort of got caught up at Oliver’s.  You know how it is.  I’ll try to be there on time.  See you soon :)_

Her eyes immediately fall to the second message, reading it quickly with her finger hovering over the reply box.

_Looks like I’m not going to be able to make it on time after all.  Meet you at your place instead?_

Arianna sighs quietly and types a response.

_Alright.  I’ll catch a cab.  Should be there in half an hour._

She readjusts her purse on her shoulder and clutching her phone in her hand, begins walking out into the street.  The sun beats down on her head, causing her curls to begin unwinding.  She tucks a bunch of them behind her ear and stops next to an empty bench, lowering herself onto it.  She crosses her legs, bouncing her foot up and down as she dials the number for a cab.  Her eyes follow the people walking in and out of the square as she orders a cab and hangs up the phone.  Doing this makes her realize how much she missed people watching.  All that time spent locked away in a cell with hardly any human interaction has affected her more than she had expected. 

Her phone vibrates a couple minutes later, interrupting her thoughts before they can get away from her.  She looks down at the screen, reading the text message from Teagan that is flashing over a picture of a rose. 

_I’m already at your place.  So?  How did it go?_

She blows air loudly from her lips, scanning the street for a moment.  She hates having to lie to Teagan, even if it is only an innocent one.  If there is any person in the world she wants to tell all this to, it’s her.  Unfortunately, her habit of gossip keeps Arianna from spilling even a single word to her.

_It went okay.  I won’t know if I got it for another week or so.  There were a lot of applicants._

She finishes typing and looks up from her phone, checking to see if her cab has arrived.  She picks at the material of her tights as her phone vibrates again, a new message appearing on the screen.

_You’ll be fine.  How about you stop and pick up something to celebrate?  Or self-medicate.  Either way, you could use it after everything that’s happened._

Just the mention of her situation strikes a chord deep inside of her.  A piece of her she has been keeping well-hidden and locked away for the past week, acting like it would never come back to bite her.  She bites down on her lip, confused feelings battling inside of her.  The sound of the city hits her full force all of a sudden and she jumps slightly on the bench.  A car horn honks a few times over the noise and her head snaps in the direction of the street.  The cab she ordered is perched on the edge of the sidewalk, the driver meticulously searching for her along the street.

She quickly stands and jogs over to the road, her moment of panic stripping away.  She waves at the driver and he gives her a curt nod before facing the road ahead of him.  She opens the back door and hops inside, setting her purse down next to her on the seat. 

“Good afternoon,” the driver says, turning on his signal light with a flick of his wrist.  He glances at her in the rear-view mirror, his eyes baby blue in the sunlight.

“Hello.  Can you take me to Benny’s Liquor Depot?  It’s on Cedar Boulevard,” she replies, quickly replying to Teagan and shoving her phone back in her purse.

“Sure thing,” the driver says, pulling out onto the street.

Arianna tries her hardest to tune out her previous thoughts of Harry and his house of horrors as they drive down the avenue but now that’s she’s started, she can’t seem to stop.  Ever since the night she came home, she’s been trying to act like it was all a figment of her imagination and that if she tried hard enough, she could convince herself of just that.  Except, even though she is far away from him and his manipulation, she can’t seem to escape the past memories and current worries he brings her.

She had hoped that once she got back to her regular routine and filled her time with so many things she wouldn’t have time to even think of him, that she could begin to move on from this.  However, her mind seems to have opposite plans to what she originally intended.

Cars move past them as they drive on either side of the car, turning onto different streets and stopping next to them at red lights.  She attempts to do what she always used to on car rides and studies the people in the cars next to them, coming up with life stories for each of them based on how they are dressed or what they appear to be singing along to on the radio.

The distraction appears to work and her mind travels off in a different direction.  Her hands clasp on her lap, cold even though the rest of her body is still warm from the sun.  The car turns onto a different street and they travel halfway down it before puling to the curb and coming to a stop.

Arianna grasps her purse in her hand and opens her door, leaning towards the driver.  “Can you keep the meter running?  I’ll only be a few minutes,” she asks, earning a nod and smile from him.

She steps out of the cab, her heels clicking loudly on the sidewalk as she walks up the small liquor store, nearly hidden between the two much larger clothing stores on both sides of it.  She pushes the front door open, causing the bell above it to ring.

“So the rumors are true?” a voice calls out, causing her head to snap up.  Her eyes land on a young man behind the counter with a wide smile on his face.

“I guess so,” Arianna replies, struggling to keep the smile off of her own face as the man slips around the counter and approaches her, his arms outstretched.

“This is okay, right?” he asks, hesitating a few steps away from her.  She nods in response and he wraps her in a brief embrace.  “It’s good to have you back, Ari.  You had everyone losing half their minds while you were gone.”

“I missed you, too, Logan”

Logan chuckles softly and steps back from her, clasping his hands behind his back.  “So, what can I get for you?  Special discount for the long lost girl.”

“Is it alright if I just look around?  I’m not quite sure what I came for exactly.”

“That’s fine.  Just come see me when you’re ready to ring up,” Logan says, walking back in the direction of the counter.

Arianna clears her throat and begins walking down one of the many aisles.  The abundance of different types of alcohol is slightly overwhelming and she wishes momentarily that Teagan was here with her.  She always was more adept at this than she is. 

She walks further down the aisle, her eyes slowly scanning the labels on all of the bottles.  She steps closer to the shelf on her right and begins taking bottles off of it.  She reads the labels before setting them back where she got them from.

She grabs another bottle, the sound of the bell ringing pulling her attention away from it.  She hears Logan greeting the customer and turns back to look at the bottle in her hand.  Her whole body feels like it’s been injected with ice at the sight of the tequila sunrise staring back up at her.  Without intending to, her mind rushes straight back to the night at the lake house party.

_“Well, what do you usually drink?”_

_“Tequila sunrises,” she answers, making Harry laugh._

_“Of course you do.”_

_“What’s wrong with tequila sunrises?”_

_“It’s a girly drink.”_

_“Well, I am a girl.”_

_“You are,” Harry smiles_.

The words bounce around in her brain and she swallows hard, quickly replacing it back on the shelf.  Once again, he has her trapped in more way than one.  She turns away from the shelf and quickly walks to the end of store, her shoes clacking on the tile.  Her eyes glance up at the sign that reads vodka.

Without even bothering to check the label on the bottle, she grabs one and tucks it under her arm.  Logan is still busy with a customer so she wanders along the aisle, pursing her lips and trying to read the bottles on the shelf.  Her mind keeps trying to roam back to the topic of Harry but she shuts it off immediately by quickly walking to the front counter and setting the bottle down on it.

Logan notices and hurries to finish up his conversation with the older man, walking over to her in a sort of fluster.  He steps behind the counter and brings up a screen behind him.

“Find everything alright?” he asks, scanning the drink and punching in a code on the cash register.

“Yeah,” Arianna says, her face lighting up with a tiny smile.

This isn’t the first time she has been here and purchased alcohol while being underage.  One of the perks of being best friends with Teagan is being a part of her circle of college aged friends, Logan being one of them.  Her and Teagan have memorized his hours of work at Benny’s and only come when he is here.

Logan packages the bottle and hands it to Arianna with a polite smile on his face.  “Thanks again for this,” she says to him, taking the bottle from his hand.

“Of course.  It was nice to finally see you again, Ari,” he replies, giving her a small wave as she turns and walks towards the door.

The cab is still sitting by the curb when she walks back out into the busy street.  The sun hits her face and she squints, leaning down to open the back door of the car.  She sits down and closes it behind her, placing her belongings on her lap.

“Thanks for waiting.  23 Albert street please,” she says, receiving a nod from the driver in the mirror before he pulls out into traffic again.

The small house looks the same as it always does as they pull up in front of it.  Arianna’s eyes scale up the front of it and she blows out a sigh.  The cab driver resets his GPS as Arianna hands him a handful of bills and thanks him again before stepping out of the cab. 

She walks up the front walkway, her feet beginning to ache from the uncomfortable heels.  She approaches the front door and digs in her purse with one hand, retrieving her key.  She sticks in the lock and opens it, jumping slightly at the sight of a male figure rummaging through the closet a few feet away from her.

The man stands straight, pausing what he was doing and looks at Arianna, a small screwdriver clamped between his teeth.  “Ari!” he exclaims, replacing the small toolbox in his hands back on the shelf and walking over to pull her into a hug.

She accepts, wrapping her arms around him and dropping her purse onto the floor.  “Hey, Dad,” she replies, snuggling her face into his shoulder.

He pulls away from her, his large hands clasping onto her shoulders and a proud smile on his face.  Aaron Brinley is one of her favorite people in the world, on the right occasion.  He has always been more kind and encouraging than her mother even though he still doesn’t support the way she views the world around her.

He is a handsome man with young facial features except for the few lines of age around his eyes and mouth.  They share many of the same features including the same shade of dark, brown hair and the same expression for when they are concerned about something.  When she was younger, she used to spend most of her time with her father, drawing on the kitchen floor and taking rides on the swings at the park.  But as she got older, she grew apart from him for several years and they rarely exchanged a conversation that remained civil.  This is when she realized she had inherited something else directly from him; his stubbornness. 

“So, how was it?  I bet you got the job, there’s no way they wouldn’t give it to you,” he asks, continuing the conversation as he walks back to the closet and gathers his things in his arms.

“It was okay.  They told me they would be in touch with me soon,” she answers, grabbing her phone from her purse and walking towards the stairs at the end of the hallway.

“That’s great.  I’ve spent all afternoon trying to fix that damn patio door.  Keeps catching on the step no matter what I try.  I think this might help though,” he says, holding up his favorite toolbox.

The sight of it brings back even more memories.  Times when she would play his assistant and help him fix things around the house in attempts to impress her mother.  She hasn’t seen that toolbox in so long, she thought her mother had tossed it out years ago. 

She nods her head in response and purses her lips, glancing up the stairs and then back at Aaron.  “Well, let me know if you need any help later.  I should head upstairs now and see Teagan before she starts swiping my clothes again.”

“Oh, yeah, before I forget, Coach Randy called and was wondering when you would be able to come to a practice,” he calls after her , causing her to pause mid-way up the stairs and cringe slightly, turning back to face him.

“Um, I’ll call her and let her know,” she replies, slinging her hand on the railing.

“Alright.  Be sure to do that,” he adds before disappearing into the kitchen.

Arianna scales the remaining stairs, kicking off her heels at the top and bending over to pick them up.  She turns the doorknob on her bedroom door and pushes it open with her back, entering the room.

“Took you long enough!” Teagan exclaims in a breathy voice, spinning around in Arianna’s desk chair with her feet propped up on a text book.

Arianna tosses her phone and the packaged bottle onto her bed and immediately begins undressing, casting her black shirt into the dirty laundry bin.  “It’s not my fault you sent me on a crazy shopping spree,” she replies, sticking her tongue out playfully at Teagan.

Teagan laughs and leans towards the bed, stretching out her arm and grabbing the bottle.  She pulls it into her lap and yanks the wrapping off, tossing it on top of the desk.  “Vodka?” she says, her face scrunching in disgust.

“Sorry about that.  I saw something that reminded me of… there and I just grabbed one and got out as fast as I could,” Arianna rambles, sighing as she kicks the black tights off the ends of her feet.

“Okay,” Teagan replies, her eyebrows lowering in slight confusion.  “Don’t worry about it.”

She continues to stare at Arianna with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion as she proceeds to get dressed.  Arianna pulls a baggy hoodie over her head, completely oblivious to Teagan’s searching expression until she turns around to face her.

“What?” she asks, tucking her short hair behind her ears and slowly walking over to sit on her bed.

“It’s just…” Teagan begins, her tiny nose scrunching up.  “How come you’ve never told me about the place you were in?  I mean, you tell me small things but never what happened to you there and how you got away.”

Arianna glances quickly down at the black sheets on her bed so that Teagan can’t see how her eyes widen at her question.  Every time someone asks her about the house in the woods, she immediately freezes up.  A big part of her wants to just blurt out everything that happened to her and all those girls but a very small part of her doesn’t want to give it all up yet. 

Teagan looks at her expectantly, her freckle covered arms crossed tightly over her chest.  Arianna takes a deep breath and averts her eyes slowly to the framed records on the wall next to her before making eye contact with Teagan.

“There was a man there,” she admits quietly, dropping her eyes from Teagan’s.  Immediately, and as always at the thought of him, she feels tears beginning to sting her eyes.  She clears her throat and glances upwards again.  “He didn’t hurt me but he wasn’t the kindest person either.  He… He treated me well, better than I would have expected.  I think he only brought me there for the company.  And I didn’t mind it, spending time there with him.”

Teagan listens quietly, not even a gasp slipping through her lips through all of Arianna’s revelations.  However, her blue eyes are wide, like they are sucking in every word and movement Arianna makes with extra intensity.  A short silence falls over them and Arianna sniffles, wiping the end of her nose with her sleeve.  Talking about him like that, lying about him never gets easier.  The way her mind tries to come up with ideas and traits for him to tell other people is exhausting and only makes it harder to get the original idea of him out of her head.

“Was he the one that abducted you?” Teagan asks, her eyes blinking as she comes out of her trance.

“Yes,” Arianna breathes.

“Were you scared of him?”

“At first.  Then I learned that there was nothing to be afraid of.  We got along and he began to grow on me.  I sort of developed a relationship with him,” she answers, struggling to put a smile on her face.

“You fell in love with him?”

The question takes her by surprise, knocking the breath from her chest and causing her body to visibly stiffen.  She knows the answer to the question immediately, but the thought of her loving him still sends the pegs of her progress to come crashing down a few notches. 

“Well, not exactly,” she answers after a few moments, pulling her legs up and cuddling them into her chest.   

“What do you mean?”

“I never loved him.  We didn’t have any sort of relationship that really allowed for that.  I cared about him and liked him sometimes but mostly, I think I just felt sorry for him.”

“Why?”

“He was incredibly lonely and messed up.  I’ve seen broken people before but nothing like him.  I just wanted to, I don’t know, fix him maybe.   In the least make him happier.  Things just didn’t go like I planned,” Arianna says, truth spilling from her lips for the first time in a while.

“How did you escape?  Wasn’t he holding you hostage?” Teagan asks in a rush, standing from the chair and plopping herself on the bed across from Arianna.

“He was, but something tells me I always had the decision to leave if I wanted to.  And when things got bad between us, I used my upper hand and he just let me go.”

“Did you want to go?  Sorry, it’s just you’re crying and I can’t tell if that’s because the thought of him scares you or that you miss him,” Teagan points out, grabbing Arianna’s hand and pulling it towards her.

Arianna lifts her other hand to her cheek and is shocked when she pulls it away and finds tears on her fingertips.  She blinks her eyes and more tears fall down her cheeks, her throat constricting as a sob bursts through her lips.

“I don’t know, things were so different there.  And he fucked me up so bad that I can’t even tell if these feelings are genuine or not.  I don’t know if I made the right decision leaving him or if I should have stayed,” she cries, barely feeling Teagan when she squeezes her hand tighter.

“Maybe you should just lay down and try not to think about it,” Teagan suggests, dropping her hand and pulling the comforter away from her pillows.  “Once you calm down and clear your head, things might start to make more sense.”

“It just- It doesn’t make sense,” Arianna sighs in defeat, another hiccupping sob breaking through her lips.  “I should be glad to be free of him but I can’t stop feeling like a made a huge mistake.  I miss him all the time and I can’t tell anyone because they’ll think I’m going insane.”

“You can tell me, Ari.  You can always tell me,” Teagan whispers, rubbing her back with small circles. 

“Okay,” Arianna whispers, the word being carried away as almost nothing but a loud sigh.

Teagan raises her hand and wipes the tears off of Arianna’s red cheeks, giving her a small reassuring smile.  She tries to return it but her lips feel too heavy to lift.  Instead, she sighs and buries her face in her hands, shaking her head back and forth.

“Do you want to lie down now?  Maybe have a drink to numb the pain, you bought a pretty strong alcohol here,” Teagan remarks, chuckling lightly.

“I’ve had stronger,” Arianna jokes back, feeling pain rip through her at the thought of her bourbon filled night that was even more filled with Harry.  Her smile dies away on her face and she droops her head, attempting to hide the hurt on her face.

“Are you okay?” Teagan asks, lifting Arianna’s head up to look at her.

She nods her head in response.  “I think I just need a shower.  Today was a lot and I just need to feel clean again.”

“Alright.  Just tell me if you need anything.  I’ll be waiting right here.”

Arianna smiles slightly in appreciation before standing from the bed.  She walks over to her dresser and collects some clean clothes before heading off down the hallway and into the adjoining bathroom.

 

 

 **The water pounds down on the white tile next to her, barely touching her back as she stands with her head leaning against the shower wall.** Her wet hair drips down onto her face, disguising the tears that are mingling with it.  Her fingers lift to brush the wet strands out of her eyes and they tremble against her cheeks.  She can feel the darkness creeping up all around her, prepared to suck her in and never spit her out again.  There have been a few times over the past week where she has almost let it, but she always changes her mind at the last minute.

The way she visualizes it, Harry is the dark matter seeping across the floor in her direction and she is the helpless, little girl crying in the corner with almost every last ounce of fight drained out of her.  Whenever she gets like this and lets the feelings take over her, it almost always leads to the same internal conflict.  Should she give him a second chance or not?

The scalding water pounds violently against her back, leaving an angry trail of red skin behind as she clutches her face in her hands, pressing her fingertips firmly against her forehead.  She would scream if Teagan wasn’t in the other room.  Silent sobs are forced from her lips as more tears slide down her cheeks.  As hard as she tries, she can’t escape the overwhelming feeling this predicament brings her.  She wants to go to him and demand to know why he continues to hold her in the palm of his hand even when he is miles away from her.  The understanding of how foolish and wrong it would be to do that is there in her mind but sometimes she just doesn’t care.

The need to have some sort of closure or attention from him is eating her alive.  She wants to forgive him and evade him at the same time and the never ending battle inside her head fills her with a type of frustration she’s never felt before in her life.   She has reasons behind her choices and they are all as valid as each other.  She just doesn’t know which ones outweigh the others.

On one hand, she cares about Harry, in a strange, messed up way and she misses him, in an even more deranged fashion.  The hole inside of her feels more like a crater every second, cutting deeper and deeper, chipping away more pieces of her.  And deep down, she knows that the only solution to filling it is to go back to him.  Her head is easily influenced this way by images and memories of moments spent with him, good and bad.  She misses their conversations and their fights and the subconscious feeling of always knowing he was within reach if she wanted him to be.  It doesn’t matter how foolish the idea might be, she wants to have these things again.

But the other part of her hates him.  And not just in an angry way but in a way that makes her blood boil at just the thought of him.  He left her alone when she needed him the most and then became angry with her instead of giving her the space and comfort she needed.  He didn’t and could never understand how to sympathize with another person the way she has come to sympathize with him.  The thought of that alone is almost enough to turn her completely away from him.  She knows he will never change, the days spent trying to angle him in the right direction and failing have shown her that.  He will always be the same angry, manipulative psychopath he has always been.

The options are both sitting on opposite ends of her scale of compulsion and it is in perfect balance.  Neither of the choices are more negative or positive than the other and she is right back where she started.  Questions pour into her brain but none of them can be answered logically.  She is too coerced by even the thought of him to think clearly. 

The minutes tick by as she stands against the shower wall, sorting through her brain for even the slightest notion of a decision.  Slowly, her mind begins filling with so many thoughts and plans that they start to mingle and mix, becoming impossible to comprehend and she ends up staying in the shower until the water goes from hot to cold.


	34. 33.

Nitro jogs up the porch steps, taking them two at a time.  The white bucket filled with chicken wings in his hand burns at the skin on his fingertips so he tucks it into the crook of his elbow.  He sets the case of beer in his other hand down on the porch and runs his fingers through his long hair, shaking the heavy water droplets out of it.

The rain continues to pour down behind him, bouncing off of the dusty sand on the walkway and causing a roar in his ears.  He stares at the front door, slipping his fingers into the back pocket of his tight jeans and grabbing out his set of keys.  He flicks through them, each one color coded for the different locks he encounters each time he comes to the house.  A quiet sigh slips through his lips when he finds the right one and he bends over to pick up the beer case before approaching the door.

He sticks the key in the lock and pauses for a moment.  The past few encounters he has had with Harry haven’t been delightful or easy.  He is broken in a way Nitro can’t even begin to comprehend, let alone help him fix.  The things he usually uses to make conversation with him are now considered offensive and even if he was in the mood to talk, the hostility constantly brimming behind his eyes and the smell of alcohol on his breath is enough to scare even Nitro.

Nitro readjusts the objects in his arms and turns the key, whistling lowly.  The door swings open and the empty hallway faces him.  His eyes survey it, taking in the dirty floors and smashed pieces of glass scattering the carpet.  Another vase from the shelf is missing and the flower is lying wilted at his feet.  His foot lifts over the threshold, carefully avoiding the shards and stepping onto some finer pieces of glass that crunch beneath his boot.  He looks around once more before shutting the door behind him and cutting off the sound of the rain.

The silence that replaces the noise is eerie and for a moment, Nitro wonders if the house is completely empty.  Stepping around the glass, he turns into the kitchen doorway and walks to the counter, setting down the bucket and the beer case next to the sink.  Rain patters against the window above the stove, slipping down the glass like tears.  The kitchen is dark from the gloomy day outside so Nitro meanders over to the wall and turns on a light. 

He examines the row of empty bottles lined up on the countertop.  Some of them are knocked over and one is lying on the floor.  Ashes from his used cigarettes are overflowing in the small tray in the middle of the counter and the smell of nicotine is still lingering in the air.  Nitro sighs, running his fingers through his damp hair again and backing out of the room. 

His boots clunk on the floor as he walks down the hallway.  He checks the living room and finds the television turned on, the images of some daytime movie flashing on the screen.  The volume is low and barely audible but the sound of the actors’ voices talking still brings him some comfort.  He walks over to the couch and grabs the remote, turning up the volume before throwing it down next to an empty takeout box.  He watches the characters on the screen for a few more minutes before he pulls his eyes away and leaves the room, the voices following him out. 

He walks to the basement stairs next, skipping down them quickly while sorting through his set of keys.  He jams one of them into the lock and opens the door, relief filling him at the sight of the girls still sitting in their cells.  He quickly closes the door before he can cause a disturbance and runs back up the stairs, his calves straining and his breathing coming out in loud puffs. 

Once he catches his breath, he moves on to the studio door, slowly pushing it open and standing in the doorway.  His eyes scan the room, almost immediately landing on Harry.  He is sitting on the floor in the middle of the work benches, slumping and staring at his feet.  The room is still a mess, with ripped canvases and smeared paint covering most of the floor.  Nitro has attempted to clean it up but Harry yells at him every time and only makes a bigger mess.

“There you are,” Nitro greets, stepping over the threshold.  “I was beginning to think you finally left us.”

The smile he had forced to appear on his face slowly falls into a straight line.  Harry remains silent on the floor, his eyes not even flickering up to acknowledge Nitro’s arrival.  Instead, his eyes glance to the vodka bottle that is lying on its side next to him, the contents spilled into a puddle on the floor.  He kicks it, sending it rolling across the room and into the opposite wall.  The sound shatters through the wall of silence, causing Nitro to startle and shift his body so that he is leaning against one of the work benches.

“Are you hungry?  I brought some chicken wings and beer.  I thought that maybe if you were feeling better, we could eat and watch the game together tonight,” he suggests, pointing over his shoulder.

Harry continues to stay silent, his eyes staring directly at the vodka bottle.  The tension building in him is visible as his arms stiffen and his jaw tautens.

“Just go away,” he says after a few moments, his voice hoarse and quiet.

“I’m sorry.  I’m just trying to be your friend, here.  I know you’ve been through a lot and it’s not good for you to be trapped alone in this house all the time,” Nitro stammers, his voice quavering with nervousness.

“I don’t need you to be my friend,” Harry snaps, his eyes finally landing on Nitro’s face.  “I don’t need your assistance.  I’m not alone in here and you trying to point things out isn’t going to help my situation.”

“It’s just been a couple days.  I expected a change in your behavior-”

“Just mind your own fucking business, for god’s sakes!  This is why I didn’t want you around!  I knew you would throw your pitiful act on me and try to make me see reason!  Well, there’s no reason left here so no, you can’t help me!”

“Harry.  If you would just try-”

“Just leave, Nitro.  Fucking go!” Harry roars, the sound reverberating off of the walls and hitting Nitro repeatedly in the silence that follows.

He opens his mouth again to say something, lifting his finger as if he is going to make a point and then stops.  His hand drops back to his side and he closes his mouth.  He looks down at Harry sitting on the floor, surrounded by the burden of his mistakes and feels nothing but pure pity for him.  His actions prove that there is nothing to be done for him and Nitro feels like giving up completely.  He knows that he should leave him alone, that he should turn his back and never return to this place again but he doesn’t want to abandon him in some of the worst moments of his life.

He averts his eyes from Harry’s figure and glances over his shoulder at the open doorway.  As much as he wants to stay here and not let Harry have his way, he knows that right now all he needs is space.  So, he clears his throat and nods his head in Harry’s direction before turning and leaving the room.

Harry watches him go, the anger still nipping at him like hot flames from a fire.  Most of it has fizzled away and he never intended for it to get out of his control in the first place.  Now, as it dissipates, he is left feeling bleak.  The sadness that is constantly hovering over him is trying to find cracks to seep in through and he willingly begins to allow it.  His body relaxes and he hangs his head between his knees, staring at the floor.  Dried, black paint is smeared across the wood beneath him and the sight of it causes a sigh to ripple through his body.

Slowly, he lifts his head and glances at the canvas that is propped up beside him, the surface completely black from the paint he had spilled on it two weeks ago.  Since then, it has begun to represent something more to him.  The black nothingness where Arianna used to be is like the bottom of a very deep hole that has formed inside of him.  The thought of it reminds him of how he’s spent the last four weeks doing nothing but staring into its depths and ignoring the fact that he should be trying to repair it.

He groans loudly, digging his fingers into his messy hair and sliding them through it a couple times in frustration.  His eyes direct to the door which is still sitting wide open.  Light from the hallway pours into the dimly lit studio, accentuating the mess he has left in the wake of her leaving him.  He stares at the hallway for a few moments, his breathing coming out in small, shaky puffs.  He can hear the faint sound of the television coming from the living room but otherwise, the house is silent.

In a moment of bravery or possibly stupidity, he places his hands behind him and pushes himself up off of the dirty floor.  His legs wobble and lock beneath him, the alcohol he had consumed only an hour before swimming in his stomach and causing his head to spin.  He pauses, steadying himself before he begins stumbling towards the open door.

He enters the hallway and swings his head from side to side, checking to ensure that Nitro has left the house.  The sound of the television grows louder as his feet begin to move him in the direction of the spare bedroom.  When he reaches it, his hand shoots out and grasps the handle, the other one sticking a key in the lock and turning it.  He opens the door and stops in the middle of the frame, his eyes locking on Elaina who is sprawled out across the bed with an outdated magazine clasped in her hands.

For some reason, he had half expected to see Arianna laying on the sheets, the light from the window creeping up on her and accentuating her features.  When he realizes he was being foolish, anger begins nipping at him again.  He tenses his limbs and begins crossing the room towards the bed.

Elaina lowers her magazine when she sees him approaching her and props herself up on her elbows.  “Good to see you’re not pissed today,” she remarks as he reaches the bed.

He ignores her comment, grabbing the pillow she was resting her head on and tossing it onto the floor.  She looks up at him with confusion crossing her features and audibly gasps when he grabs her head with his hand and brings his lips to hers. 

Her eyes widen as he moans into her mouth and her hands shoot up to cup his cheeks, forcing them apart.  He stares down at her, frozen with shock, his bottom lip hanging down in a slight pout.

“You need to stop kissing me every time you’re missing her,” Elaina says in exasperation, dropping her hands from his face.

She quickly rolls away from him and sits up on the bed, casting the magazine away.  She glances up at his face and the annoyance that fills his previously surprised eyes is easily noted.

“And you need to stop sucking the fun out of everything,” he spats, lifting his knee off of the bed and standing straight. 

He walks over towards the desk and leans against it, his balled up fists pressing into the reclaimed wood.  Elaina moves to perch herself on the edge of the mattress, her long, thin legs hanging down to the floor.  She can sense the mood in the room change and she sighs, running her fingers through her hair.

“You’ve always been an ass, you know that, right?” she says, causing him to visibly stiffen.

He turns his head to look in her direction, his eyes narrowing into threatening slits and his jaw clenching.

Elaina makes an unconvinced sound and rolls her eyes slightly.  “You think I’m scared of you?”

“You should be,” he growls under his breath. 

“I should be?  I’ve been here a long time, Harry.  I know that you wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

Anger and hurt surges through him at her response and he slams his fists down on the dresser before spinning around and storming across the room.  Elaina remains silent as he begins pacing, his hands grasping his wild hair and tugging on it.

“I hurt _her_!” he exclaims, the frenzy apparent on his face when he stops moving and his eyes meet hers.

The emotion in his voice causes Elaina to slump slightly in pity for him.  The guilt and urgency swimming in his eyes is almost enough to pull her over the line onto his side.  She shifts on the bed, lifting her legs and crossing them beneath her.  Her hands clasp in her lap and she bites down her lip.

Harry stands across the room with his toes pointed in and his head hanging down in his hands.  His shoulders move up and down with every strangled, quiet breath that is forced through his lips.  The sound of rain pounding against the window fills the room suddenly as the force of it turns from a drizzle to a downpour.  Wind whips against the house and through the branches on the trees and causing them to sway in synchronization.  The storm inside of Harry is also brewing and beating against his walls, trying to break free and consume him completely. 

He opens his mouth to add onto his previous outburst but the feelings hit him so hard that he physically can’t go through with the action.  He watches Elaina watching him and feels another round of guilt hit him full force.  The way she is looking at him makes him want to shrink into a speck of dust on the floor.  Her eyes are judging him, not in a suspicious way but in a pitiful, accusatory way.  He knows how she feels about this place, the things he’s done and the things he continues to do.  He understands how she hates him for taking Arianna and using her to his advantage before destroying her and chasing her off.

“You ruined her.  You knew that she was naïve and careless and you used that to your advantage,” Elaina accuses, her face turning into a frown.  “You don’t get to feel sorry for yourself.  I spent so much time trying to convince her that you have no good intentions but you had her so brainwashed that she couldn’t even discern right from wrong.  She thought you were good under all the bad and I’ve tried to see that side of you but then you always do something like this.  First Valerie and now Arianna.  You just don’t know when to stop.”

“She is not like Valerie!” Harry explodes, beginning to advance on Elaina but stopping in his tracks a few feet away from the bed.  He releases a shaky sigh and purses his lips.  “She left me before things could get that far.  I- You know I wouldn’t have let it get that far again.”

“I don’t know what you would or wouldn’t have done.  Just look at yourself, pining over her even though you keep telling me you’re glad she left.  I think that if she was still here, you would be suffocating her even more than you were before.  You just can’t let things be any way but your way.  That’s the problem.  She could have chosen between you and leaving, but you don’t give us the option to choose.”

“I gave her a choice!”

“You held her here for months!  That wasn’t a choice!”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he remarks snidely, waving her off.

“I don’t know what I’m talking about?” she asks incredulously, standing up from the bed.  “I’m one of them!  Or did you forget who you were talking to?  I’ve been living here for a year without a choice!”

“What?  So you want to leave me, too?” Harry yells, throwing his hands up in the air, color sparking in his cheeks.

“Of course, I do!”

Her answer sends him spiralling off of the edge he was precariously standing on.  He spins on his heel and storms towards the door, his hands balled into fists at his sides. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” Elaina yells after him, her feet pounding on the floor as she follows him.

He stops in his tracks, causing her to run into his back.  She yelps and stumbles backwards, attempting to collect herself.  She takes a deep breath and opens her mouth to say something, stopping when she sees the upset look on Harry’s face.

He feels like the world is crashing down all around him.  Things that he never even realized or thought about before are being forced into the spotlight and he doesn’t know what to do with them.  His dream from a couple nights ago forces its way into his mind, reminding him of the uncomfortable feeling he had when he saw Valerie.  The first thing she made him think of was how she was so similar to Arianna.  And even though she tried to convince him that they weren’t the same, she was a dreamed up version of herself and she had no idea what she was talking about.  The demons that have haunted Harry ever since her death are constantly swimming around in his head.  He’s never had to deal with this kind of emotional pain before.  His whole life, the only demon he had to face was himself.

“You’re right,” he says quietly, his voice tight.

Elaina’s jaw drops slightly at his revelation.  “I’m right about you being a monster?” she questions, examining his face as he turns around.

He nods his head and then looks down at his shoes.  “But you’re not right about Arianna,” he continues, his eyes hard when he meets her gaze again. 

“What do you mean?”

“I might have been pining over her the past couple weeks but that’s all about to change,” he answers, swiping his tongue across his lips.  “I don’t want her to come back.”


	35. 34.

The wheels on the car come to a screeching halt on the edge of the highway, sending dust floating up around it.  Other cars whisk by, shaking the body of the parked cab as Arianna opens the door and steps outside.  The air around her is cold because the sun is hidden behind a blanket of clouds.  The cab driver watches her back as she walks away along the side of the highway.  No questions were asked when she demanded to be let off in the middle of the ride to the gym.  He waits for a few minutes, watching her figure get smaller as she gets further away before he shifts the car into drive and pulls back onto the road. 

Arianna’s hair blows in the wind that is coming from ahead of her, the short, wavy strands fanning and whipping behind her.  She walks with a fast pace, her strong legs burning to break into a run but she holds herself back.  Her hands clench at her sides, arms swinging stiffly in the sleeves of her plaid shirt.  Her momentum increases slightly as a hidden road comes into sight ahead of her. 

She reaches it quickly, her breath catching in her throat as her eyes travel as far as they can see down the long, dirt driveway.  She pauses, her shoes shuffling on the dirt before coming to a stop.  Everything around her falls completely silent, the wind ceases blowing and the cars stop roaring past.  The only sound that is prominent is her beating heart which is stampeding at an unrealistic rhythm, like it is literally going to beat out of her chest. 

For the first moment since the car got onto the highway, she is beginning to second guess herself.  It was almost immediate, the yearning to see him.  It was like he was calling out for her and the sound of his voice wiped all of the negative things about him off of her scale.  The positive things are now weighing down everything, all of her thoughts and feelings and intuition.  She is blinded by him and as she stands so close to being completed captured by him again, all of her common sense seems to be rushing back into her.  The weight of it all sends her hurtling back down to earth and she knows that it won’t be long until she crashes and burns. 

Along with her morals returns the sound, sweeping her up in everything around her.  The wind sends her hair flying across her face, shielding her vision and for a moment, blinding her again.  She lifts her hands and brushes it away, a deep, shaky breath breaking through her lips.  The sound rattles up from her chest and joins the noise all around her. 

She feels condescending.  Everything she has spent weeks convincing herself was true seems to be falling apart strand by strand, peeling away to reveal the things she has been desperately trying to keep concealed.  Moments are flying at her at an overwhelming speed, becoming jumbled inside of her head and forming into a mess of temptation.  Her eyes stare straight ahead, her hands hanging limply at her sides.  The house is pulling her toward it like metal to a magnet and the resolve in her to stay put is quickly dissolving. 

Her hand reaches into the pocket of her shirt and her fingers curl around a lighter and tiny package.  She pulls them out, her lips popping open slightly as she stares at them.  Her thumb slowly pushes up the tab on the package, opening it to reveal two cigarettes.  They slide together, falling out into the palm of her hand and she flicks on the lighter.  After igniting the tip of one of them, she drops the other back into the package and brings the cigarette to her lips.  The scent of nicotine almost immediately soothes her nerves and she sighs, inhaling deeply.  She tucks the lighter and package back into her pocket and presses the toe of her shoe into the dirt.  She rocks back and forth on her tiptoes, deciding if she should take a step forwards or backwards.  She takes another deep breath, the sharp taste of smoke hitting her tongue.  She wants to change her mind and pick the other option but her decision has already been made.  It has been since she entered that cab.

Her foot moves forwards, followed closely by the other one.  The dirt crunches beneath her shoes as she walks and her breathing starts to increase again.  Thoughts continue to battle inside of her head but she tries to drain them out.  The breeze rushes around her, sending goosebumps shooting up on the skin beneath her shirt sleeves.  The fresh air helps to clear her head and the smoke swirling in her lungs slows her galloping heart.  However, she still feels on edge, occasionally pausing and turning around to take a few steps in the other direction.

Within a few minutes, she reaches the end of the driveway.  The house appears in front of her, scaling up towards the sky in all its magnificence.  It was always such a shame that such awful things happen inside because the house itself is beautiful.  As she walks between the vehicles, a new feeling sweeps over her.  What if he doesn’t want her back?  She swallows hard, the cigarette in her hand plummeting to the ground.  It rolls away a few centimeters and smoke continues to blow away with the wind at her feet.  

She reaches her shaking hand up and rubs it over her nose, the skin a light red color from the harshness of the wind.  She runs the last few moments she shared with Harry through her head, picking over the words that were exchanged between them and the way he looked at her when she left.  What if he left, too?  Would he just take all of the girls and leave?  He would if he was worried that she would tell someone about everything that happened to her.

She looks up at the house, examining the shut blinds and vacant front porch.  The swing creaks back and forth in the wind as she slowly begins walking up the front steps with her lip between her teeth.  Without even thinking about the door being locked, she places her hand on the doorknob and turns it.  She gasps slightly when the door opens easily, swinging wide open and pulling her with it.  She stumbles over the threshold and her hands fly outwards to grab onto the wall.  Old glass shards get crushed beneath her feet as she catches herself, placing both of her hands on the wall in front of her.  She glances down at the floor and frowns at the sight of the broken glass.  She carefully steps away from the wall, her eyes tracing along the carpet and to the scattered, dusty pieces of broken vase on the dark, hardwood floor. 

Reaching behind her, she closes the front door and presses the combination lock closed, examining it in her hand for a moment and wondering why it was left unlocked.  The idea of Harry and the girls being gone resurfaces and she sucks in a deep breath, shaking her hands a few times at her side.  Glass continues to crunch and snap as she walks down the hallway, the sound filling the otherwise silent house.  The lights are off in every room that she passes and she only spends a few seconds in each doorway, her eyes scanning for him.  She reaches the basement door and pauses, staring down the steep staircase.  She places her hand on the banister next to her and clutches the wood tightly, her heart shooting into her throat.  She stares at the door at the bottom for a few minutes, her body unmoving.  They are either on the other side of the door or they are not.  She turns her head, looking over her shoulder at the hallway on the right.  She can’t bring herself to go downstairs and find the answer. 

She continues on down the hallway, turning the doorknobs and sighing when she finds them locked.  She knocks softly on each of them, pressing her ear against the wood and holding her breath.  She makes it to the end of the hallway and turns to face the closed door that leads to Harry’s studio.  Her heart is thumping hollowly in her chest, the feeling verging on the edge of pain.  Her lungs tighten in her chest, the rapid, quiet breaths coming from her mouth, ceasing.  She lifts her hand and places it on the knob, wrapping her fingers around the cool metal.  She turns it slowly, letting a slightly annoyed sigh slip through her lips when it stops turning halfway around.  She clutches it tighter before she allows her hand to drop.

Her gaze falls to the floor and the worry of him actually being gone filling her entire body.  It feels like ice is being injected into her veins, slowly and painfully spreading through her body and straight to her heart.  Her eyes remain dry and her body slackens, almost like she is losing control of her muscles.  She lets the idea consume her, so much that she barely is able to hear the sound of a crash on the other side of the door a few moments later.

She snaps out of her trance and reaches for the doorknob again, twisting it out of habit.  Footsteps follow the sound and then silence falls down again.  Arianna lifts her fists and bangs on the door, receiving no answer.

“Harry?” she calls through the wood, her voice cracking.

Her heart thumps loudly in her ears as she waits for a reply.  She hears someone shuffling around and presses her head against the door.  The sound of breathing is barely audible but she immediately discerns it as being Harry. 

“It’s me… Arianna,” she breathes, nervousness replacing the cold feeling in her veins.  “Open the door.”

She waits for a few moments, frowning when all sound behind the door ceases.  Her hands slowly begin to fall from the door and her shoulders slump in defeat.  He doesn’t want to see her.  The question she had asked herself only moments before is turning out to be true.  If he wanted her to come back and reconcile what they were on the verge of creating, he would open the door. 

She breathes in and out deeply, the sound lifeless and shaky.  Her hands travel to her hair and she grabs fistfuls of it, taking a step backwards away from the door.  Her lips part and tears fill her eyes, clinging to her eyelashes.  She tries to breathe again but it seems to get hitched in her throat, only allowing a strangled noise to escape.  Her watery eyes slowly look up to the ceiling and she bites down on her lip.  She is aware that she should be leaving, that this means he doesn’t want her but her feet can’t remember how to move.

She clenches her fists tighter, pulling on her hair and letting a loud groan rip through her lips.  Frustration fills her, she doesn’t understand why he is doing this.  She doesn’t understand why he does anything that he does.  He took her, he ruined her life by filling her with so much of him that she can’t go a day without thinking about him.  He doesn’t get to just cast her away and act like he didn’t do anything wrong.

Removing her hands from her hair, she connects them against the door.  She repeatedly punches it, screams forcefully pushing through her lips every time the wood thumps beneath her skin.  Tears occasionally slide down her red cheeks, dripping off of her jaw and landing on the floor but she doesn’t feel miserable.  She feels livid. 

Her red hot anger prevents her from reacting when the door flies open in front of her and her hand punches into the soft material of Harry’s grey hoodie.  His eyes are bloodshot and wide with concern as he stares down at her, grabbing both of her wrists in his hands.  She stops her punching motions, unmoving under his touch.  Her lips fall open and a sob bursts through her them. 

Harry loosens his grip on her wrists and walks her backwards into the opposite wall.  Her back presses against the wood, a quiet gasp escaping her lips.  The darkness of the hallway shadows his face as he leans in wordlessly and smashes his lips against hers.  She exhales into his mouth, feeling the life pouring back into her as his hands clutch her waist.  She digs her fingernails through his hair causing the moan he makes to melt against her lips.  She moans in return, feeling like her heart is about to burst wide open as he pulls their bodies closer together.  Hands move up and down, caressing and hugging like they are rushing to remember every inch of each other. 

Harry pecks her lips and neck with soft kisses, listening to sound of her breathless panting in his ears.  His mind is a jumbled mess, overwhelmed by the sight, taste and scent of her.  All of his senses are in overdrive and he is scrambling to make up for every wrong thing he has ever done to her.  His hands find her neck and wrap around the back of it, pressing her further into the wall.  Their lips move faster, tongues sweeping against each other in a heavy motion.  In the midst of everything, a warning signal begins going off in the back of Harry’s mind.

Things are moving too fast, too flustered to be heading into a good direction.  He slides his hands from her neck down to her wrists.  He lightly presses his fingertips on the skin there, brushing his lips against hers once more before slowly pulling away.  Her eyes flutter open and she looks up at him with questions written into every inch of her face.

He studies her eyes for a moment, reading deep into the light grey irises.  His lips curl upwards slightly at the ends and he grabs her hands in his, walking them backwards into the studio. The lights above them cast a soft glow on their skin as they approach a work bench.  Their eyes never break contact as Harry guides her up and onto the surface.  He places his hands on her waist and she instinctually rests hers on his arms.  It takes all of his willpower to not lean into the gesture.

He stands straighter and examines her face for a moment, taking in her windblown hair and pouty, pink lips.  He opens his own to say something but all that comes out is a sharp breath as he takes a step forward and envelopes his lips with hers.

The kiss isn’t as rushed as before but it is just as passionate.  Her hands reach for his abdomen and slip under the thick material of his hoodie, her fingers running over the smooth skin.  Fire rushes over his skin at her touch and he moves to stand between her legs, kissing her harder and longer as she continues to explore.  A soft gasp slips through her lips as her hands travel over his muscular back, hitching the material of his sweater up higher.  He chuckles slightly in return, moving his lips to her jaw and latching onto the skin there.  She moans and balls his sweater in her fist, leaning her head further to the side. 

He takes this opportunity to allow his hands to explore her body for the first time.  His fingers squeeze along her thighs, feeling the defined muscles beneath her soft, pale skin.  He travels up her legs and around her waist, taking extra seconds to learn how her body reacts to the bites and kisses he places on her neck.  The sounds of pleasure she makes awakens a yearning inside of him that he has spent weeks trying to fulfill.  He was just starting to get past this.  He had convinced himself that he would never have these things again.  Now, he can’t stop from soaking in every beautiful aspect of her.

He is pulled down from his piece of heaven when her hands find his.  He pauses his kisses for a second as she guides their hands to her waist and releases them.  He clasps his hands around her hips and waits as she struggles to lift her shirt.  He smiles and leans into her, pressing his lips firmly to hers once before pulling both of her shirts off and leaving her in only a lacy, black bra and light grey, high waisted shorts.

“It’s okay,” she whispers near his ear when he pauses, his hands resting on her thighs.

He remains standing there for a few more moments, the sound of her quiet breathing the only noise in the room.  She watches him as he takes a step away from her and slowly raises his hand to place it just next to her collarbone.  She blinks at his touch and he can feel her pulse racing beneath his fingertips.  His green eyes sweep over her face and he brushes her hair off of her shoulder.

“I can’t do this with you,” he says, keeping his hand on her neck.

“Why not?” she breathes.

“Because I do this with all of the girls.  I want my time with you to be different,” he answers, lifting his hand to stroke her rosy cheek.

“Okay,” she exhales, laughing out of relief.

“Okay,” he replies, biting down on his swollen, bottom lip.

She smiles up at him before pursing her lips together and directing her gaze to the floor.  Harry’s socked feet are standing on top of a pile of ripped paper.  She frowns at the sight and moves to examine the rest of the floor, noticing for the first time the spilled paint and shredded materials scattered upon it. 

She looks back up at Harry and gestures at the floor.  “What happened in here?” she asks, earning a small shrug from him.

“Oh, well, Nitro got pretty pissed off when you left,” he answers, shrugging again and tilting his head to the floor to hide his smile.

Arianna bursts into a giggle, her hand immediately shooting up to cover her mouth.  She raises her eyebrows when Harry looks at her and she continues to laugh.  He joins in for a moment before they both fall silent, the repercussions of the conversation they should be having quickly catching up to them. 

A couple moments pass before either of them even makes a sound.  Harry takes another step back and shoves his hands in his pockets.   Arianna stares down at their feet, hers swinging slightly back and forth beneath her.  The lightness of their reunion has faded away and now they must face the conversation both of them are dreading.  One that could end in either a fight, resulting in both of them leaving or an agreement, which is still unknown if either of them want.

“How did you even get in here?” Harry asks, breaking the silence.

“The front door was unlocked,” Arianna answers, her voice distracted as she pulls her black tank top over her head.

“Fucking Nitro.”

Arianna smiles at his answer, continuing to swing her legs beneath her.  Harry scrunches his face into a small frown and tussles his hair with his fingers.

“I thought maybe it was open because you left,” Arianna adds after a few moments of silence.

Harry’s eyes snap to her face, shock crossing his features.  “You thought I would leave because of you?” he asks in disbelief.  She nods her head in reply, biting down on her lip. 

“I wouldn’t do that,” he whispers, shaking his head slightly and looking straight into her eyes.

“I wasn’t sure what you would do.  I haven’t seen you or spoke to you since that night.  You had no reason not to leave.  I could have told someone about you.  I was a liability to you.”

“I trusted you not to.”

“Why, though?  I had every reason to tell.  You know I did.”

“But you didn’t,” he points out, resting his hands on her knees.

She shakes her head and looks at the empty space next to him.  A smile creeps up on his lips when she makes eye contact with him again and raises one of her eyebrows.  He’s always trusted her.  There isn’t a real reason why he should, she’s defied him and left him, time after time.  There’s just a small part of him that has always known she may do all of these things but she will never betray him.

He missed this part of his life while she was gone.  Some of the other girls like Elaina will occasionally give him grief but none of them have ever done it the same way as Arianna.  She brings a flame to his day that was previously only a spark, fading in and out of consciousness.  He couldn’t remember what his life was like before she came into it.  When she left, she threw off his entire routine and he constantly found himself seeking her out for company.  Just the sound of her laugh or the way her nose crinkles up when she smiles are things that have become such a part of him that when they were swept out from under him so quickly, he didn’t know how to act like he never knew them.

Arianna looks up at him, her dark eyelashes blinking quickly when he catches her staring at him.  He wants to be with her every day, even if they hate each other.  He would give anything to see the color flush into her cheeks while she screams at him over nothing at all.  Even just to know that she’s here in the house, nearby if he ever feels lonely and needs someone who can pull him away from the darker parts of himself.  He wants to do whatever in his power to make her choose to stay.

“I fucking hate how much I love being with you,” he says, grabbing her wrist in his hand and stroking the side of it with his thumb.

Her eyes widen slightly at his words and she jumps down from the workbench, causing him to take a few steps backwards. He drops her wrist and she immediately grabs his hand in hers, squeezing it tightly, almost too tightly. He glances down at their intertwined fingers and fights a smile.

“I can’t imagine my life without you in it.  Even if we’re not together, we can never be apart,” he says, voicing all the thoughts that have been flying around in his head since he saw her standing on the other side of that door.

Her hand flinches at his words, squeezing his hand once.  Her eyes blink once, twice, three times before she opens her mouth, the words falling from her lips causing his entire body to relax. 

“I don’t ever want to be apart.”

A relieved sigh pushes through his lips and he wraps his arms around her, burying his head into her neck.  For now, he is safe.  She doesn’t want to leave him as much as he doesn’t want her to.  He knows she will be angry.  She will be more irate then he’s ever seen her before.  But for now, her wild berry perfume fills his nostrils and he sighs again, pressing a soft kiss to the side of her neck.  He feels her arms curl around his neck, pressing their bodies closer together, as close as possible.


	36. 35.

“We should talk about this,” Arianna whispers, pulling out of his embrace.

Harry holds tightly onto her arms, like she is slipping into quicksand while he stands nearby on solid ground.  His perfect moment is falling away much faster than he imagined and he isn’t prepared for the fight that is coming.

“We can’t just sit back and hope that everything that happened goes away on its own,” she adds, flinching her hand away when he tries to grab a hold of it.

His face turns upside down instantaneously.  The crease between his dark eyebrows becomes prominent and his lips squeeze together tightly, the corners pointing downwards.  He tucks his hand back into his pocket, eyes sweeping over her face once before they point to the floor.

“Please don’t shut down on me,” Arianna whispers, her eyes squinted in concern.

“I’m not,” he sighs after a moment of silence.

“You are,” she corrects, raising her eyebrows and approaching him.  His entire body tenses further when she places her hand on his arm.  “We can’t just move on.  I’m still angry with you.  You did unforgivable things to me and you have to fix what you did.  You can’t just gloss it over and call it fine.”

“I’m not doing that,” he replies, his tone impatient.  His hands fly to his hair, running through it once before they cross over his chest.  “I just don’t know where to start.”

Arianna sighs, chewing on her lip.  Where do they start?  So many things have happened between them since the moment they met.  Countless things.  The most recent are not even the worst.  She thinks back to what caused the situation to take place and the only reasons she can come up with for her leaving are her arrest and Simeon dying.

“We can start with Simeon,” she says, the name feeling sour coming from her mouth.  “Do you feel remorseful at all about what happened to him?”

Harry’s hands raise to his face and he takes a couple steps backwards, sliding them down his skin and sighing.

“Harry?”

“Of course I do, Arianna,” he snaps, dropping his hands to his sides.

The defensive stance he is in reminds her vividly of the last time she asked him this question.  She holds her breath as she watches his eyes fill with buried anger.  This is their problem.  Since they met, Harry has not been able to open up to her without anger surfacing.  He holds it all in until he can’t anymore and then it all comes bursting out laced with fire and venom.

“Then tell me because I can’t read your mind!” she yells, slightly surprised by her own outburst.

“I just did!” he spats back, throwing his hands up into the air.

“Really?  Because it just sounds like you were telling me what I want to hear!”

“No!  You don’t get to tell me how I feel about Simeon!  Just because you’re not inside of my head doesn’t mean what I said wasn’t true!”

“Well, if I only knew whether that was true or not,” she adds quietly, rolling her eyes.

Harry hears her muttering and approaches her quickly, pausing only a few centimeters away from her.  She looks up at him, her stare hard and demanding.

“You don’t know anything,” he points out.

“Of course, I don’t!  You never let me!” she fires back, standing up on her tiptoes so that she is right in his face.

“That’s because you wouldn’t want to know!”

“Who are you to decide that?  It’s my life that you keep stealing away and you don’t think I deserve to know you for it!”

“You don’t get to blame me for that anymore!  I gave you an out and you took it!  Then you came back to me!  I didn’t decide that!” he roars, his teeth baring to spit out every word.

“I will always blame you because it’s always going to be your fault!” she screams, poking her finger into his chest.  “You did this-”

“No, this was all you!”

“-First to me and now to Elaina and Xenia and Tammy!  Just because you think you’ve shown me a different side of this life of yours, it doesn’t erase all of the awful, fucked up things you’ve done before and after me!”

“I never did anything to them!  You know that!”

“No?  But I don’t!  Elaina is too proud to ever admit anything awful to me.  Xenia is too scared to even speak half of time.  Tammy is god knows where…” she interrupts, listing each point off on her fingers.  “I only know what you want me to believe!”

“I haven’t done anything but what you already know!  Just ask them if you don’t believe me, they’ll tell you!” Harry shouts, his eyes wide and brimming with rage.

“How am I supposed to ask Tammy?  She’s gone.  Please.  Explain that to me, Harry,” she orders, her voice filled with malice.

Harry sighs in annoyance and pinches the bridge of his nose.  His worst fears are all out on the table, exposed and screaming with Arianna hovering inches away from them, prepared to dive right in and soak them up.  This is what he didn’t want to happen.  He spent all this time trying to keep her from uncovering the darkness that he has piled on top of himself.  He knows that once she finds out what he’s done, it won’t just rip her from his life again.  It will ruin her.

“Tammy is safe and alive.  She is staying with a friend of mine until I can figure out some things,” he lies, noticing how Arianna’s face turns from angry to relieved at his words.  “She is not the first girl of mine to leave this place intact.”

“Valerie,” Arianna remembers aloud, looking up at him again.

Harry’s heart stops in his chest and he sucks in a breath.  “How do you know that name?” he asks, struggling to keep his voice steady.

“Elaina mentioned it to me once.  I think it was after I tried to escape the first time,” she explains, her forehead crinkling as she tries to remember the details.

“It’s alright.  You don’t have to tell me.  I remember who she is,” he says quickly, grasping her upper arm in his hand.

She flinches slightly under his touch, the fire in her eyes flaring up again for a moment.  He had nearly forgotten they were just fighting.  The mention of Valerie has caused the heavy words exchanged between them to be immediately washed away.  He drops his hand, grimacing at the look on her face.  She is like storm clouds, threatening and looming over his head, waiting for the right moment to strike him with lightning.

“Elaina never told me what happened to her.  It was almost like it was something bad and she didn’t want to me hear it.”

Here come the droplets of rain starting to pound down on his head.  It was only a matter of time until she found out about the things he has never told anyone.  The things he did to Valerie, the things she did to him.  And Pierce-

“Harry?”

The sound of her voice snaps his head in her direction and causes the dark direction his mind was heading to to dissolve like a puff of smoke.  He can barely remember what she had been saying so he studies her face silently, hoping to pick up a sign from the way her bottom lip is sucked in her teeth.  He opens his mouth to say something to make up for his silence when the sound of a car door slamming shut reaches his ears.

His senses immediately heighten and he pauses, listening for further noise.  Another door shuts and he is suddenly across the room, grabbing the doorframe and peeking into the hallway.  Arianna is quickly on his heels, standing behind him with her heart in her throat.

“Fuck,” he curses, frustration strung in his voice when he spots the trunk of a police cruiser peeking out from the cracked open blinds on his living room window.

“Who is it?” Arianna asks, her voice breaking through his concern.

He knows it won’t take long for the officers to reach the door so he reaches his hand behind him and grasps Arianna’s hand in his.  He ignores her question and pulls her behind him as he turns and runs down the hallway.  He reaches the stairs that lead to the second story and his feet move quickly as he scales them.

“Come up here.  My locked bedroom door will buy us more time,” he says, his breathing coming out in pants as they reach the top of the stairs and turn right.

“Harry, who is it?” Arianna repeats, her voice insistent.

He sprints to the last door at the end of the short hallway, the sound of their feet stomping against the hardwood floor the only answer she receives.  Harry pulls her through the open doorway and closes it behind them before he lets go of her hand.  It falls limply to her side as he turns his back to her and locks the doorknob and both chains.

He sighs, still facing away from her and she takes the moment to allow her eyes to quickly scan over the large room.  This is one room in the house she has always wondered about.  The sound of footsteps downstairs disrupts her exploring and her eyes snap back to Harry.  A gasp slips through her lips when she sees the way he is looking at her.  The way his eyes are glaring straight into hers causes her to look away momentarily.

“Did you tell the cops to come here?” he accuses, his voice laced with venom.

“No,” she answers, her mind scrambling to catch up with his.

“Don’t lie to me,” he growls, causing something to break loose inside of Arianna.

Tears gather in her eyes and her entire body starts to shake.  He has never looked at her this way before.  “I swear, Harry.  I didn’t tell anyone anything,” she cries, lifting her hand to swipe the tears from her cheeks.

“Okay,” he says distractedly, walking around her.  She follows his gaze, afraid for the first time since he threatened her life that he might hurt her.

“I swear,” she repeats, her voice shaking.

He ignores her and continues searching for something.  He opens the top drawer on his dresser and shoves his hands inside, casting item after item of clothing onto the floor.  He sighs angrily and kicks the bottom of the dresser.  Arianna flinches and takes a step towards him, aware of the officers searching for them downstairs.

She pauses in her advance and glances over her shoulder at the closed door.  It wouldn’t take more than a few minutes for the officers to break the door in once they get up here.  She turns back to Harry to voice her concerns but stops when she sees a pair of handcuffs clutched in his hands.

“Handcuff me to the dresser,” he orders, stepping forward and shoving the cuffs into her hands.

She looks down at them and then up at Harry.  Confusion etches into her features at the sight of the serious expression on his face.  “Wait.  Why?” she asks as he backs up and sits in front of the large dresser.

“Just trust me, Arianna.  Handcuff me,” he says, the urgency in his tone making her feet move towards him. 

She crouches down next to him and he offers her one of his hands.  She hesitates, meeting his eyes and freezing completely.  A sick feeling in the pit of her stomach tells her that she is not going to be easily accepting of the plan that is formulating in his head. 

A shaky breath loudly breaks through her lips and he leans towards her.  Her eyes automatically flutter closed and fly back open when she feels his hand taking the cuffs from hers.  He quickly snaps one on his wrist and the other on the leg of the dresser.  Emptiness fills the space inside of her that had been hoping he would kiss her.

She moves to stand up but is stopped by Harry’s free hand wrapping around the back of her neck.  She gasps, the sound being silenced by Harry’s lips pressing against hers.  She inhales and all of a sudden, he is pulling away.

“Stand up,” he says and she slowly obeys, pushing herself upright.  “See that safe over there?”

She follows the direction his finger is pointing in and nods when she spots the small safe tucked under his bed.  “Listen, carefully.  I don’t want you to be scared.  Go over to it and open it.  You’ll find a gun inside.  The code is 4245,” Harry explains as she walks towards it, causing her to stop in her tracks.

“What?” she asks, her voice cracking as she turns to face him.

“Listen.  You’re going to have to make a decision here and you’re not going to like it,” he continues, pointing more aggressively at the safe. 

At his words, realization crashes over her.  Her body seems to shut down except for her hands which start trembling uncontrollably.  A shaky breath shudders from her chest, leaving her mouth feeling dry.  The sound of voices yelling downstairs sends her propelling back into the moment and she drops to her knees.

“Arianna,” Harry urges, his voice remaining low.  Her eyes trail up to his face and another ragged breath slips through her lips.  “Trust me.”

The calmness in his voice rips through her and she is forced to look away from him.  Her eyes fall to the safe and she takes a deep breath, the sound the only one in the room.  Slowly and unwillingly, she crawls towards it and presses in the number code on the small keypad.  The safe makes a beeping sound and the door pops open slightly.  She pauses for a second, hanging her head and trying to catch her breath.  Harry’s nearly silent reiteration of please forces her hand to open the door and reach inside, grabbing the handgun and clutching it loosely in her fist.

She turns to look at him, his face distraught and hers filled with fear.  His eyes speak to her without his mouth even having to move and her feet slowly stand along with the rest of her body.  She approaches him, staring at the floor so she doesn’t have to look at the tiny pricks of tears in his eyes.  She holds the gun in one hand, pointing it directly at the floor.  Her heart is beating so hard and fast in her chest, she feels like the thumping is controlling her whole body.

Harry looks up at her, his eyes never breaking contact from her face.  “You have to do it.  Save yourself.  Take your life back.  You said it yourself, I put you here.  So, now you have to power to take it all away,” he says, the previous tears in his eyes gone, leaving the green irises emotionless.  “Shoot me.”

“Harry,” Arianna pleads, tears collecting at a rapid speed in her eyes.

“Do it.  Shoot me and leave.  Run away from here.  Or tell them, tell them about all of this.  I don’t care.  I just can’t lose you again,” he says, his voice breaking on the last part.

Tears stream down Arianna’s cheeks and she clutches the gun tighter in her hand.  Her heart is beating louder than before and the sound of it fills her head.  Everything else fades out except for Harry sitting on the floor in front of her begging for her to end everything.

Footsteps can be heard at the bottom of the stairs and Arianna panics, lifting the gun and lowering it just as fast.  Her breath hitches in her throat and she glances up at Harry, his face twisting in urgency.

“Decide, Arianna,” he demands as the sound of feet on the stairs fills the air around them.

She raises the gun and holds her breath, her entire body stiffening as she stares down at him.  Tears cloud her eyes as she takes off the safety and places her finger on the trigger.  She points the barrel of the gun at Harry and closes her eyes, making up her mind just as the handle tries to turn on the door.


	37. 36.

Everything is in a blur, like one of those old movies with a bad picture that keeps skipping and fast forwarding over parts because the tape is being eaten away.  Moments from the time she met him up until the last few seconds are laid out in front of her, messy and unorganized.  She can remember how much she hated him, the feeling roaring up in her chest but then simmering at the thought of him making her laugh and feel safe.  There are so many memories in such a short period of time and now, they are all flying at her at warp speed. 

She can feel the gun in her hands, just like she can feel every fibre of every nerve in her body that is connecting to that gun.  The life at her fingertips isn’t just a life of a psychopathic criminal anymore.  He has become something more in the time they spent together.  He has shown her how human he can be when everything else fades into the background.  And if she just had a little more time with him, maybe she could uncover the reasons behind the person he is.  There was a time where she would have gladly pulled the trigger without giving it a second thought, but that time is long past, mixed in with the blurry tape that is her time with him. 

Time appears to be moving in slow motion as she looks down at him, her finger lightly touching the trigger on the gun.  She can hear every word he’s ever said to her, replaying in her brain.  All of the fights and revelations resurface, including the ones from other people.  She tries to piece it all together as she stands there, debating whether the person under all the madness is worth saving or not.  The finished puzzle she ends up with is missing half the pieces and some that she has don’t fit together properly.  Can she really live the rest of her life not knowing what the completed picture would look like?

She tries to pick out all of the bad memories she has of him.  Remembering easily the time he took her, threatened her, took Xenia, and forced himself on her.  The list goes on and on.  He has done more harm than good but she already knew this.  It’s not the bad that bothers her.  It’s the little bit of good that drives her insane.

She slides her finger along the trigger, finally understanding why she can’t bring herself to shoot him.  She doesn’t want him to end here.  She wants to be able to uncover more good parts of him, even if they never outweigh the bad.  He deserves the chance to reconcile himself.  She is not going to be the one to take that away from him.

The voices of the officers talking on the other side of the door reach her ears and she reacts.  Biting down on her lip, she redirects the gun and pulls the trigger.  The sound of Harry crying out in pain causes her heart to shatter into a million pieces.  She casts the gun onto the floor and drops to her knees, sliding over to him.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers, using her hand to quickly assess the blood that is seeping through his grey hoodie from the small hole in his shoulder.

His teeth clench together and his breathing hisses through them.  His entire body shakes up and down with each breath he takes.  Arianna presses her hand over the wound and he cries out in pain again, distracting her from the banging on the door and shouting from the officers on the other side as they try to break it down.

“I’m so sorry,” she repeats, reaching into the back pocket of her shorts and pulling out some hair pins.

Harry continues to breathe heavily, his free hand replacing Arianna’s to clutch his shoulder.  Arianna works quickly, her hands trembling and fumbling with the pin as she rushes to pick the lock on his cuffs.  Harry opens his mouth and complains but Arianna doesn’t hear what he says as she struggles to free him.  Finally, the handcuff pops open and she sighs in relief, a small, satisfactory smile creeping up on her lips.

She stands quickly, expecting Harry to do the same but he remains on the floor.  His eyes stare straight ahead, wide open and filled with shock.  Arianna looks over at him from the window she has just pried open and frowns.  She gestures for him to follow her and when he ignores her completely, she rushes over to him and grabs him by the wrist of his uninjured arm.  She pulls him up from the floor and jogs towards the window.

“Leave me!” Harry demands, pulling back on her arm as she reaches the window.

“No!” Arianna shouts over another loud crack on the bedroom door.

She lifts her leg and swings it over the windowsill, dangling it until she feels the solid porch awning beneath her foot.  She ducks her head and slips through, dragging Harry closer.  His eyes meet hers through the window, blood from his shoulder is smeared across his cheek.

“Please, leave me,” he begs, grabbing her wrist in his hand and squeezing it.

She shakes her head in response, her lips setting into a straight line.  Her hand reaches up and grabs the neckline of his sweater, pulling the top half of him through the window.  Reluctantly, the rest of his body follows.  Arianna glances at the bedroom door while they both stand on the awning, the wind whipping around them.  The door is cracked in two places and the hinges are beginning to give away.

“Come on.  We have to hurry,” she says, grabbing Harry’s hand and leading him to the edge of the awning.  She looks down at the grass and bites her lip, dropping Harry’s hand.  “Can you jump?”

Both of their eyes look to his bleeding shoulder and then back to each other.  “I don’t have much a choice, do I?” he asks, squinting his eyes and grabbing his wound.

“You go first,” Arianna says, causing Harry to shoot her a look.  “That way I can help you as soon as I get down there.”

“Fine,” he says, a grimace overtaking his features as he looks down at the ground. 

He sighs and glances at Arianna one more time before crouching down and grabbing the edge of the roof with his good hand.  He breathes out in pain and jumps.  His feet land flat and his knees buckle underneath him, causing him to stumble and fall.  Arianna hits the ground a few seconds later, running over to him and lifting his face up to look at her.  He turns over and sits down on the gravel, allowing her hands to momentarily caress his jaw.

“Are you okay?” she asks, moving to examine his bleeding shoulder.

“Yeah,” he answers, frowning as she helps pull him to his feet.

Arianna wraps her arm around his back and they walk quickly in the direction of the vehicles.  “Does it hurt?” she asks when he winces again.

“Just my dignity,” he replies, earning a small laugh from her.

The sound is almost too joyful to coincide with the events that just occurred.  Arianna seems to realize this and her laughter cuts short.  She glances up at Harry and is too late to see if there was a smile on his face or not.  He clears his throat and her eyes snap forwards, landing on the black jeep.

Harry shuffles away from her and reaches into his back pocket, pulling out a set of keys.  “You’re lucky I haven’t done laundry for the past few weeks,” he says, jingling the keychain in his hand.

Arianna smiles but a part of her hurts at the thought of him not even being able to do the laundry without her here.  Was he really that forlorn without her?  Harry begins jogging around to the driver’s side and Arianna leans across the hood of the vehicle.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive?” she offers, glancing at his shoulder.

“I’ve got it,” he says abruptly, swinging the door open and carefully hopping into the driver’s seat. 

Arianna gets into the passenger side and slams her door shut, just as the engine starts.  Harry puts the vehicle into reverse and leans over his right shoulder to look out the back window.  He winces and groans when he turns forward again and lays his hurt shoulder against the seat.

“They’re coming,” Arianna announces, glancing in the side mirror. 

Harry looks in the rear-view mirror and sees the two officers running down the porch steps.  He immediately steps harder on the gas, causing the jeep to lurch forward.  Every bump and tree root that they cascade over is accompanied by a groan of pain from Harry’s lips.  Arianna frowns every time, the guilt of what she did finally catching up with her.

“I really am sorry about your shoulder,” she says, her heart beating faster than before.

Silence overpasses them, Harry’s gaze remains on the road as they quickly peel onto the highway.  Sirens can be heard in the distance but the cruisers are nowhere in sight yet.  His stare is hardened and his hand is gripping the wheel tighter and tighter with every second that passes.

“Can you please say something?  A lot just happened and I could use the distraction,” Arianna blurts out, clutching onto the handle on the roof of the jeep as they quickly switch lanes.  The car behind them honks loudly in protest but Harry ignores it and accelerates further.

“You were supposed to shoot me,” he replies, his gaze remaining forward.

“I- I did.”

“No,” he says, cutting her off before she can apologize again.  “You were supposed to shoot me in the head or the heart.  Not in the damn shoulder.”

The seething anger that arises at the end of his sentence strikes Arianna the wrong way.  She spins to face him, her seatbelt straining to hold her in the seat.

“You know what?  You should be thanking me right now.  Not complaining that I chose not to kill you,” she spits out, crossing her arms over her chest.

“You should have just done what I asked you to do!” he yells, causing her to jump in surprise.  “Now, you’ve gone and caused a whole bunch of unnecessary problems when you could have just been done with it!  We both could have!”

“Been done with it?  You think I would just kill you and get over it, just like that?”

“You were supposed to,” he snaps, looking at her momentarily.  She wishes that he would have just kept his eyes on the road.  She didn’t need to see the blame behind them.

“Well, I’m sorry that I couldn’t follow orders like you expected me to.  Forgive me for wanting to give you another chance at life.  Maybe even a normal one!”

“You don’t get it.  You’ll never have a normal life with me.  I’m a criminal.  I’ll end up in jail if they find me!”

“And if they don’t find you-”

“Just stop, Arianna.  This little fantasy of me in your head is not going to come true.  It’s bullshit!  I am who I am and you are who you are!  And you can’t change one of us without changing the other.”

His hand lifts off of the steering wheel and runs through his hair in frustration.  He grabs the wheel again and swerves into the outside lane.

“So, maybe I should change to change you!  Did you ever think that maybe that’s a good thing?” Arianna suggests, her voice thick.

“Trust me, Arianna.  It’s not a good thing,” Harry says, exasperated.

The argument halts for a moment while Arianna thinks about his words.  How can changing him for the better be a bad thing?  It doesn’t matter if she changes because of him.  She’s been searching for change for so long now that she is desperate for it in any form, even bad.

“Well, I’ve already made my choice.  It’s too late to go back and change things.  So, I guess you’re stuck with my bad decision,” she says, looking at him pointedly.

“This isn’t up to you!” he shouts, slamming his hand against the steering wheel.  The jeep jerks to the left and he doesn’t bother to correct it.  “I didn’t give you a choice!  I told you to shoot me and you _didn’t listen_.  If you think I’m going to stick around after this, you’re insane.”

“You’re insane!” she fires back, throwing her hands up in different directions.  “If you would just hear yourself and stop sputtering nonsense, we could figure this out!”

“But that’s just it!  I don’t want to figure this out with you!  I don’t need anyone, let alone you helping me!  You ruined everything,” Harry spats, turning to completely face Arianna.

Hurt crosses her features and she looks down for a second before meeting his eyes again.  Her mouth opens to say something just as the tire of the jeep slides off of the road.  Harry tries to react in time, but before he can grab the steering wheel again, the jeep runs off of the road completely.

Arianna watches as his facial expression changes from fury to surprise and it’s like she’s suspended in her old movie tape again.  Everything moves in a slow, broken motion as Harry’s eyes widen and he reaches out for her.  She feels the jeep hit the ground on her side and her body jolts against the door, knocking the breath out of her.  And just like that, everything returns to normal speed. 

The jeep rolls over and over on the side of the road.  Every time it hits the ground, Arianna’s entire body rattles and shakes.  Glass from the windows shatter around her, sending pieces flying at her skin and leaving small cuts behind.  She wants to scream in pain but her body is unresponsive and thought makes her panic even more. 

All of sudden, the movement of the jeep stops and everything falls silent around her.  She opens her eyes, not even realizing that she closed them.  The setting sun hits her directly in the face and that is when she realizes that she is hanging upside down.  Her mouth opens and she inhales and when she exhales, a sob follows.

She doesn’t know how long she remains there, staring straight ahead, crying before she finally brings herself to turn and look for Harry.  The sight she sees makes her heart stop in her chest.

He is still strapped into his seat but his head is facing away from her.  She tries to reach out to him but her arms feel glued to her body.  She shakes her head and more tears form in her eyes.  She opens her mouth and tries to say his name but nothing comes out except for a small squeak.  Her eyes blink and she wonders why she can’t feel anything.  Is this what shock feels like?  She knows she’s not dead since she can still feel her heart racing in her chest. 

Before she has the opportunity to worry about it further, Harry moves.  It’s subtle at first, just the fingers of his right hand, followed by a groan being forced through his lips.  He stretches his neck to the side and groans again.  Arianna tries to talk again to get his attention but all that comes out of her lips is a sob.

Harry turns at the sound, his face resting just above the deployed airbag.  His eyes widen when he sees her and then narrow in concern.

“Arianna,” he says, the sound nearly being shrouded by the sound of approaching sirens.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to quickly thank everyone who has read this story. It is one of my favorites that I have written so far and I'm ecstatic to begin working on the sequel! Thanks so much for your support and I hope you enjoyed Pens as much as I did.


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